The user interface provided with the Burnstation prototype presents minimal information to the user. There are no icons or layout considerations in the portlet & the Add to Burn Queue link that the prototype provides.

When a video is added to the queue, the user is returned to the home page and must remember to look at the Burn Queue portlet to confirm that the video has indeed been added. As the ISO file is being produced there is no “time remaining” indication and the user has to keep refreshing the home page to see if the “Get ISO” option has appeared in the Burn Queue portlet.

We discussed options for improving the user interface but it was agreed that because this was a prototype system, the user interface could be kept to a minimum as:

• The purpose of the prototype is to confirm that videos can be combined into an ISO file that is subsequently burnt to DVD for distribution.
• A barely functional user interface is sufficient to allow testing of the concept.
• Initial users working with a basic prototype are expected to be able to review documentation & operate the system without requiring extensive user interface guidance.

EngageMedia and Unweb have made a preliminary copy of the Burnstation prototype available for you to experiment with on the Plumi test site. As you might expect from a prototype, it has a very basic front end but the concept is there. You can select a number of videos from the site then create a DVD ISO file that you can download then burn onto a DVD.

The Prototype Read Me file on the Plumi Wiki will give you an idea of how to use the system (see the How to use section). We will be creating a more detailed guide to using the prototype shortly.

Please feel free to try out the site and send an email to the plumi-discuss mailing list or post a comment in #plumi to let us know how you went. We’ll update this blog when there’s more news about our progress with the Burnstation prototype.

As part of the Burnstation prototype’s package we’ll be including a README.TXT that provides:

• Instructions for installing the Burnstation prototype’s components on a Plumi system
• How to use the Burnstation prototype
• Instructions for installing the Burnstation prototype’s components on a Plone system (without Plumi installed)

A preliminary copy of the README.TXT file is available for you to review on the Burnstation section of the Plumi Wiki. This is a sneak preview for you to review but we do not recommend installing the Burnstation prototype as it is not yet ready to be deployed into the wild.

Click here to view the preliminary copy of the Burnstation prototype’s README.TXT file,