Simmons Tech Projects
Active Projects
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7k Display
Mailing List: simmons-tech-7k@mit.edu
Overview: The paneled 144” display is shaped like the building and made up of twelve top-of-the-line Samsung LED displays, for a native 15.67 megapixels, far exceeding the highest 4K Aperture Cineon film standard. After downscaling for dots-per-inch consistency, the digital canvas it presents is 7440px by 1920px. It is powered by a single, custom-built (by residents) computer with two novelty graphics cards that leverage AMD’s Eyefinity technology to run the whole thing as one giant desktop. It is designed to be able to show anything, including images, video and interactive games across the entire surface.
Script: Geronimo created a script to splice images for the display: [TODO] Download
Web interface: Currently:
- Certificate secured site where Simmons users can submit pics for display
- Admins can add/remove any of these pics from list of those to show
- Admins can create/remove other admins
- There is a browser window for each panel of the display
- Picture is stretch to fit, and adjusted so postitioned to show correct part of picture
- Cycles through image
- There is a identical system for dashboard picture management
Needs:
- Preview what will look like on display (Probably just mask image with silhouette of display, so transparent sections show image through them)
- Allow user adjustments to pic
- Have option of choosing each panel independently, instead of just the one stretched one
- Sexier admin transitions (drag and drop, vs click on pic for a popup)
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Dashboards
Mailing List: simmons-tech-dashboards@mit.edu
Overview:Simmons owns two monitors that can be used as dashboard displays - one near each of the elevators on the first floor. A new system was created in fall 2012
URL: The Site is located at simmons-dev.mit.edu/dashboard
Publishing Guidelines: A document about publishing guidelines can be accessed [TODO] here
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Existing Database System
Mailing List: simmons-???@mit.edu
Overview: Maintainers of the old Simmons DB know the little-known facts of the old DB and how to use it from everyone's perspective. We manage the user records, the settings, and the mailing lists. This involves clicking around on the DB a lot, reading small bits of antiquated code, and changing settings when demanded. Involvement: not very exciting
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New Database System (Simmons Online)
Mailing List: simmons-tech-db@mit.edu
Overview: Simmons Online is intended to replace the existing database. The aim is to improve on existing features, both by providing a sleek new front-end to enable faster and more intuitive navigation, and by overhauling the back-end to more current and accessible technology thereby easing maintenance and future development. The front end is written in entirely custom LESS/CSS (by @cosmosd). The back-end is written in Django/Python (by @karsons).
Status: The site uses a username/password pair for authentication. A valid @mit.edu email address is required to create an account – a password, which can be changed later, is then emailed to the user. Users can request different permissions (e.g. modifying house finances, creating polls, etc.) to be granted by administrators.
From the perspective of an average resident, the main features are directory search (and, by extension, crafting one’s own profile to be displayed upon search) and maintaining one’s guestlist. This is all done.
From the perspective of a desk worker, the main features are logging packages, keys, and entertainment (e.g. movies, board games) in/out and consulting residents’ guestlists to admit visitors. Packages and guestlists are done on the back-end, but there are front-end issues. Keys and entertainment don’t yet exist in the database.
From the perspective of House Government, the main features are submitting and viewing proposals, running house meetings whereat these proposals can be acted upon, and then overseeing the allocation of house funds and tracking the ensuing reimbursements. The constitution and list of officers should also be posted somewhere. Proposals can be submitted, and they exist on the back-end, but there is no front-end for house meetings nor, by extension, for acting on proposals. The front-end for tracking the semester-by-semester spending of house funds and acting on sub-accounts is largely done, but there is no back-end for any of it. The list of officers is currently static. The constitution is posted.
From the perspective of an administrator, there should be some interface beyond the basic Django Admin Page to maintain mailing lists, privileges, etc. Because the Django Admin Page is adequate for now, we haven’t even done anything toward to this end yet. Sean is temporarily unable to work. In the meantime, Cosmos will push forward on the front-end.Future: There are several superficial features that would be nice additions to Simmons Online – menus for dining, the state of laundry machines in the building, and campus shuttle times. These are not a priority. It would also be nice to make the interface for browsing entertainment as complete as possible.
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Public Website
Mailing List: simmons-tech-website@mit.edu
Overview: The webite simmons.mit.edu is the public face of simmons. It contains information for prospectives regarding CPW (i3 video, schedule, etc) as well as information about the dorm for the genral public.
Future: The site needs to be maintained with the ongoing activities of our dorm, as well as expanded to include informatino such as the Simmons Hall Constitution.
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Rooming Visualization
Mailing List: simmons-tech-rooming@mit.edu
Overview: Last Spring, Lars created a floor plan visualzation of the current room status/availability during the rooming lottery to assist people in the room selection proces.
Future: Future tasks with a rooming visualization would involve better integration with the Simmons DB (alongisde the development of a new DB or location/room info api), and possibly the eventual development of algorithms to assist with the freshmen rooming lottery.
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Servers and Infrastructure
Mailing List: simmons-tech-servers@mit.edu
Simmons has a fairly surprising amount of gear... Here's a quick catalog of what we have:
- The old simmons server. This sucker needs to die, ASAP. This sucker's dead now, at least in the hardware department. It's some sort of Scientific Linux. And is a VM on....
- metal-gear This is our shiny 1U server, complete with 2 six-core 2.4Ghz processors, 40GB of RAM, 2 1TB hard drives, and space for 2 more. It runs a bunch of VMs using Xen. It's Debian Squeeze.
- team-rocket. This is the "Simmons Tech Athena Login Server". It's basically Linerva, but for Simmons. (That means it's Debian 6 as well)
- maple-syrup. This is the "Simmons Residents Athena Login Server". It's basically athena.dialup, but for Simmons. (That means it's Ubuntu 12.04)
- waffle-house. Aka simmons-dev, this is where projects that need web serving go for staging. It's currently running dormbase and the production dashboard. It runs Fedora 16
- simmons-ipv6. This provides IPv6 access to Simmons wired users. It runs Debian 6, and basically shouldn't need to be touched, it "just works".
- The Simmons 7k Display machine. For some hilarious reason, Cosmos decided to name this thing simmons-sex. It runs Windows 7.
Project Ideas
- Arranging cab rides to/from Airport
- Freshmen rooming algorithm
- Help queue / simmons-help
- Location API
- Mobile App for Simmons
- Real-time dining feedback
- talk-sponge (digest of sponge-talk)
- Tours / Automated system for CPW