Tarantula software

[Dan Kennard]

I've already posted this on Arachnophiles (the forum I frequent most), and have had some great feedback so far, but I'd like some input from you guys too.

I've been thinking. Would any of you guys be interested in some multi purpose tarantula software? Kinda an all in one reference with some *fun* interactive elements? This is the kind of thing I was thinking:

*Comprehensive and customiseable record keeping.
*3D Faunarium designer.
*Newbie guides and information for parents.
*Breeding information and sexing guides.
*Comprehensive species list with guides, photos and videos.
*Support for Windows and Mac.
*Interactive screensaver.
*Direct3D and OpenGL support.
*Multiple display themes.
*Inbedded links to forums and suppliers.
*Test your knowlege quizzes.
*3D atlas showing average temperatures and humidity levels
for each month of the year for differing regions, and which spiders occupy those regions (a rough guide as locality info is not always published)
*Guides on live foods, and how to breed them.
*Various hints and tips (i.e packing).
*Regular updates.
*Virtual pet desktop tarantula.

Here's a rough idea of what I was thinking for the records keeping section:


I'm currently trying to work out how to best handle large groups of the same spider (i.e. contents of successful sacs)
Any thoughts?

[James Box]

looks good! batch processing so to speak may be useful as you say...
i have too many spiders to sit through and do all those one by one, so a mass category, where you could add all the spiders that you'll tend to on a certain day, and have the option to just say you hydrated the lot, or fed the lot, would be great...then could go through and edit individuals that differed, ie if one moulted or simply didn't eat.
does need a heck of a database...
hopefully Kev will reply, he keeps thorough records and may have some suggestions.

could be really handy...but yeah those of us with a number of spiders may need some ability to keep records en masse, or else we'd end up typing in stuff for every spider, and that would take ages.

[Lisa Baines]

ooooo that looks pretty swish. The way our collection is growing could be a useful thing.

[Craig Mackay]

That looks a great idea with a nice interface too.Currently I have an excel spreadsheet to take feeding records, moult data etc. Its easy enough with a small collection like mine but would be a nightmare if it were as big as some peoples. I was gonna attempt to redesign it to make it more user friendly but that kinda thing looks pretty awesome.

[Matthew Baines]

Looks mint i would like something like this for my expanding collection. Would be helpful indeed

[Ray Hale]

good work Dan. Very impressive and well worth continuing with. Many years ago we tried something like this but that was long before the days of the "t'interweb" and it was all done on cards. The BTS have tried in the past to get a breeding directory up and running but it lacked support. This looks like a winner to me though.

I am sure the BTS would be happy to assist if we can as it is definitly a worthwhile project. The hobby needs input like this and I am personally happy to help in any way.

Regards

Ray

[matthew spooner]

that looks fantastic dan. is this a runnin working programme?? if so fancy sending me it?? lol i would definitely be interested in this as i currently have different note books that i keep all my data written in. this would be much easier. well done

[Phil Rea]

It is currently work in progress as far as I am aware Matthew

[matthew spooner]

lets hope its quick progress, i want!! lol

[Jonathan Brown]

Hey

Looks great , will this be a free program ??

[Chris Golen]

That looks pretty good.
Would you be able to add more than one picture for each T?
I would like to get pictures as they grow.

[James Box]

there'd have to be a sizeable database of pics for Chris, i think

[Dan Kennard]

Thanks for the kind words every one. Not too much pressure now then I'll try to live up to expectations

In regards to the pictures, already been thinking about that Yes, I do plan to have more than one picture per record, but that would inflate the database size quite substantially. Originally, I had planned to save the pictures in a compressed directx format, but then that would screw up any plans for a mac release, so I'm just gonna stick with standard JPEG.

Besides, hard drive space is dirt cheap now anyway

<end of tech ramble>

Thanks again guys

[Lee Ardern]

How about a "Distrubution" field so you can record the country of origin. It would also be good if you can sort by origin and genus so you can see all the spiders from a specific location or all your brachypelmas for instance.

Let us know if we can help with anything, even if it is just photos.

Lee

[Dan Kennard]

Hey guys. I'm still working on this, and I'm taking all the suggestions on board.

This is the kind of thing I was thinking of for the front end. Any thoughts?