Comments on: Pipes Badges http://ycoolthing.com/archives/636/pipes-badges-2 One Cool Thing from Yahoo! every weekday Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:13:07 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Sean http://ycoolthing.com/archives/636/pipes-badges-2#comment-9380 Sean Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:16:16 +0000 http://ycoolthing.com/archives/636/pipes-badges-2#comment-9380 Hey RS! We're getting into some of the more technical features of Pipes here, which is why we're going all crazy with the Javascript and so on. But I would try to point out that the whole point of Pipes to start with is to try to provide a visual interface to the type of coding that we're more familiar with. I'm not sure if you've played around with Pipes, but you essentially find data sources, map out a flowchart through various functions, and it'll spit out a result. For instance, if you wanted to find a listing of all the pictures of flowers where you live, you would drag a Location Builder module onto the canvas and enter your home address, connect it to a Flickr search for flowers, and the drag the output to the Pipes result. You can see my example here, if you press the View Source button: http://pipes.yahoo.com/smock511/flickr_near_something (I added a few inputs, but hopefully you get the idea) It certainly takes a certain amount of technical aptitude and a good understanding of how data can flow and be operated on, but I think this is certainly getting towards the point that your average Joe can at least start to play around with it. (also, getting the map really is a push button operation, in the sense that you push the "Get a Badge" button and it tells you how to get it) Hey RS! We’re getting into some of the more technical features of Pipes here, which is why we’re going all crazy with the Javascript and so on. But I would try to point out that the whole point of Pipes to start with is to try to provide a visual interface to the type of coding that we’re more familiar with.

I’m not sure if you’ve played around with Pipes, but you essentially find data sources, map out a flowchart through various functions, and it’ll spit out a result. For instance, if you wanted to find a listing of all the pictures of flowers where you live, you would drag a Location Builder module onto the canvas and enter your home address, connect it to a Flickr search for flowers, and the drag the output to the Pipes result. You can see my example here, if you press the View Source button:

http://pipes.yahoo.com/smock511/flickr_near_something

(I added a few inputs, but hopefully you get the idea)

It certainly takes a certain amount of technical aptitude and a good understanding of how data can flow and be operated on, but I think this is certainly getting towards the point that your average Joe can at least start to play around with it.

(also, getting the map really is a push button operation, in the sense that you push the “Get a Badge” button and it tells you how to get it)

]]> By: RS http://ycoolthing.com/archives/636/pipes-badges-2#comment-9308 RS Tue, 25 Mar 2008 17:26:41 +0000 http://ycoolthing.com/archives/636/pipes-badges-2#comment-9308 Pipes will be laughably unaccessible to non-coders like me until you make it a push button operation. I still can't comprehend fully what it even does. Step outside Silicon Valley for a few minutes. Give us normal people the same abilities using less jargon, and more point and click tools. Then your inventions will seem usable to the average Joe, and maybe see more activity. I don't even fully have the concept down of what a "mash-up" means. Glad it's all so simple for you in the ivory towers, but us simple folk could use the kid's version. Then more of us could relate. Pipes will be laughably unaccessible to non-coders like me until you make it a push button operation. I still can’t comprehend fully what it even does. Step outside Silicon Valley for a few minutes. Give us normal people the same abilities using less jargon, and more point and click tools. Then your inventions will seem usable to the average Joe, and maybe see more activity. I don’t even fully have the concept down of what a “mash-up” means. Glad it’s all so simple for you in the ivory towers, but us simple folk could use the kid’s version. Then more of us could relate.

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