[ANN] Release of Watson + APIs using NSBundle
[ANN] Release of Watson + APIs using NSBundle
- Subject: [ANN] Release of Watson + APIs using NSBundle
- From: Dan Wood <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 13:18:30 -0800
I wanted to announce here the release of the Cocoa application
called _Watson_ that I've been working on for several months now
(the official press release follows) with a special emphasis on
the developer aspects of the program.
Watson is a "container" application that is easily extendable
through the NSBundle mechanism. Each "tool" (the purpose of
which is to wrap around specific Web site(s)) implements a given
protocol, or can descend from a common base class. The tool can
access a number of utility classes and also make use of some
provided Objective-C Categories for various Foundation Kit &
AppKit extensions.
I've provided detailed documentation (generated by AutoDoc), a
Project Builder Template, a special "test" tool, and the full
source for one of the bundled tools in the developer kit
available online at
<
http://www.karelia.com/watson/developers.html>.
All of the existing tools written in Objective C, but there's no
technical reason I can think of why somebody couldn't also
implement one in Java....
If anybody is interested in making their own tool, or has any
feedback on the developer's kit, please let me know at
email@hidden.
***
And now, for the press release, describing what the program does:
***
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"Watson" program released for Mac OS X
ALAMEDA, CA, USA, November 27, 2001 --
Today, Karelia Software released Watson
<
http://www.karelia.com/watson/>, an extendable application for
Mac OS X that gives an "Aqua" user interface to a number of
Internet-based services such as stock quotes, telephone lookup,
and movie schedules. Watson functions much like Apple's Sherlock
in that it bypasses the Web Browser for specific functionality.
But instead of being a search engine, Watson connects to a
handful of other useful services available on the Internet.
"Watson came about because I found myself frequenting certain
Web sites that are really applications rather than just
content," said Dan Wood, creator of Watson. "Unfortunately,
these Internet-based applications aren't particularly
'Mac-like.' The Web stole much of the great user experience from
the Macintosh. Watson steals it back."
Intended to complement the Web browser, Watson constructs a
fagade over certain services, collecting them in a single Mac OS
X application. Modules share a single window and are selected
using a toolbar, just like the built-in "System Preferences"
application. Newly-released modules can be downloaded and
installed directly from the application.
Using Internet services with Watson has several advantages.
Watson speeds up navigation, since HTML does not need to be
rendered on-screen and no superfluous graphics are transmitted
over the Internet. Tools integrate with other Mac OS X
applications such as TextEdit, Preview, and the Web browser.
Watson tools can be truly interactive, and show "live" data
rather than requiring a user to manually reload a Web page to
see current information.
Most noticeable in Watson is the Aqua interface that one cannot
find on a Web page. A user of the Yahoo! tool, for instance,
browses categories using a "columns" view rather than a series
of separate Web pages. Data lists appear in scrolling tables
rather than free-form text. Details of selected items in a list
appear in a separate "drawer" below the main window.
Watson, downloadable as an expiring, fully functional demo,
comes with nine initial tools installed: eBay auction tracker,
exchange rate calculator, image search assistant, movie
schedules, telephone directory, recipe browser, stock tracker,
Yahoo! category browser, and Zip Code lookup. Additional tools,
available to registered users, are forthcoming. A single-user
license costs $29 (U.S.) and can be purchased via Kagi. Watson
works on any version of Mac OS X, and a full-time Internet
connection is recommended.
New tools can be built for Watson by third-party Cocoa
developers using a published API, and "approved" tools can be
hosted by Karelia and then downloaded directly by the
application.
Sherlock is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other
company and product names may be trademarks of the respective
companies with which they are associated.
--
Dan Wood
email@hidden
http://www.karelia.com/
http://www.bikealameda.org/
Mac OS X Developer: Online Resume:
http://www.karelia.com/resume.html