TipTopTool

TipTopGames

Vincent GUIGUI — 2009-10-27T23:02:00Z

TipTopGames is a Windows Mobile game platform.

Avalaible games

Bubble Ploc
- Touch or keyboard
Ballooning
- Gsensor if present or emulation from touchscreen
Shape In
- GSensor required

Beta-games

Falling game :
- Gsensor if present or emulation from touchscreen

Future games

Gravity Pong in solo mode
- GSensor required
more to come...

Context

This project is also a attempt to create a Windows Mobile Game Framework easing game developers tasks by providing an API for:
Game Initialisation/GameOver/GameWin
Double buffer
User input (keyboard, touch/mouse, GSensor)
Score and playing time
Pause/Resume functions
SFX and BGM
Check for updates
Download or Buy new games

Technical informations

It has been developed in C# 2.0 (CF 3.0 not required). It uses :
GCraoLib (tiptoptool.com)
OpenNetCF,
Unified Sensor API,
WindowsMobile.DirectX

Compatibility list:
Samsung: i900 Omnia Player Addict

Download TipTopGames from your computer or phone

Download TipTopGames
copy the cab file to your phone
click on the cab file from your phone to install it

Easy download from your phone

Just take a picture of the following Tag and your phone will automatically download the last version of TipTopGames.

: Microsoft Tag must be installed on your phone in order to snap this Tag

: a QR-Code reader must be installed on your phone in order to snap this Code

Download TweetMyApps with ClickOnce

Vincent GUIGUI — 2009-10-15T21:52:11Z

- All Downloads

Download TweetMyApps From CodePlex

Vincent GUIGUI — 2009-09-28T12:32:28Z

- All Downloads

TweetMyApps

Vincent GUIGUI — 2009-09-28T12:22:28Z

Share on Twitter your computer usage. Followers will see how many minutes you have spend on each application you have used.

Download TweetMyApps from Codeplex

Download and Install TweetMyApps with ClickOnce (Internet Explorer is recommended)

My maps on your website

Vincent GUIGUI — 2009-07-05T23:14:09Z

Context

I have started a couple of months ago a web service enabling users to create a Google Maps and to customize it (adding of point of interest, icons and paths). Before having the chance to put it on-line and to become a millionaire, Google itself caught me on the hop by putting on-line the service My Maps.

In my service, I was providing also the possibility to integrate their customized maps easily on their website by using a simple javascript code.

Since I found this function very useful but because the realisation of the service itself was not needed anymore (thank you Google), I have done some researched on the functions available on Google Maps and I faced the fact that this particular function was not (yet) available.

Here is MY solution (and thus non official and non acknowledged by Google) to integrate My Maps Google Maps on the pages of a web site.

Preliminary explanations

To create a customized map, you have to register to the service Google Maps Mes Cartes.

When you create a customized map on Google Maps, informations related to this map (points, lines...) are saved on Google's server. You can modify your maps from any computer.

If your map is public, it will be accessible by any user via Google Maps or Google Earth search services. If it is private, it will be accessible only by users knowing the URL address.

The URL to look at a map is like:

 http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?om=1&msa=0&msid=XX.YY&z=7

The parameter msid is the unique login of your map (XX corresponds to your account and YY to the specific map), z corresponds to the default zoom of the map.

Google provides a very useful function that enable to export a map to KML format. This format (based on XML) is used to stock geographical informations used in mapmaking (Google Earth, Google Maps) or navigation (GPS) softwares.

Thanks to Google great ideas, the KML file of a specific map is always accessible via an URL like (you can find this URL by right-click/Copy the shortcut on the KML link of your map):

 http://maps.google.fr/maps/ms?om=1&msa=0&msid=XX.YY&output=kml

The URL is identical to the maps one with only the parametre output in addition. Your map is thus usable in almost any KML compatible software.

The Google Maps coding interface (Google Maps API) allows the webmasters to insert a map Google Maps onto the pages of their website.

The successive evolutions of Google Maps, make it possible today to open a KML file and to display it thanks to the object GeoXML.

In order to use Google Maps programming functions, one has to register and provide the URL of the website where the maps will be displayed. Google will then be able to analyse, screen, make displaying statistics and bannish in case of non respect of Terms and Conditions.

After the registration is completed, Google gives an only login named Google Maps API Key. This login will be use in the javascript written to insert the Google Maps map.

The solution

When you insert a map Google Maps into a web page, you simply have to add the two following lines in order to load the KML file and to display its content.

 var geoXml = new GGeoXml("KML_URL"); map.addOverlay(geoXml);

Note: The object GGeoXml takes in parametre the complete URL towards a KML file. This KML file can be hosted on any website (it does not have to come from Google). Hence, KML generated by other softwares can be used. Google does not load the KML file at each call and prefers to use the cache version. To force the use of the modified file, the URL has to be changed (for example by adding any parametre at the end http://www.site/com/fichier.kml?741852963)

Here is the complete code of a webpage integrating a map Google Map:

For example: the URL of the map "My holiday trips" is:
http://maps.google.fr/maps/ms?om=1&msa=0&msid=1009281564...

Here is the result of its integration in this page:

Comments

Google uses the exact objects GGeoXml on its own site, thus, notable differences can sometimes be seen between the KML file display on your website and its appearance on Google Maps. Mainly the differences are:
GGeoXml on your website have to load the KML file with HTML respecting the XHTML norm in the descriptions. In other words, the HTML opening tags <...> in the CDATA needs their closing matches () or have to be atomic (<.../>
GGeoXml does not display all the labels if their are too many in the KML file or if the KML file is too big. Moreover, the file generated by Google Maps states a style for each label even if this style is already stated somewhere else, this increase the file size even more. My advice is to take the KML file from Google and to modify it in order to lighten the styles declaration (it is a bit boring to do manually but it can be automatised). If the file is still too big, it has to be cut into several files (for example: by theme, by place, by kind of place...) and to declare in javascript several GGeoXml (each opening a different KML file) and to add each GGeoXml with the function AddOverlay.
Google is doing a bit of automatic formatting when displaying the InfoWindow (Title is in bold, URLs are converted in links...), stuff that you have to do manually on your website.

TipTopTool is launched

Vincent GUIGUI — 2007-09-02T21:58:04Z

Welcome on TipTopTool,

Que vous soyez débutant ou expert en informatique, il y a toujours quelque chose que vous aimeriez savoir ou que vous aimeriez mieux comprendre.

Le principe de ce site est simple: vous aidez et vous guidez dans la réalisation de tâches informatiques.

Que cela soit l'intégration d'un service Google sur votre blog personnel, le choix de la technologie optimale pour vos projets Web ou Windows, je tenterais de répondre au mieux et de manière pédagogique à vos questions techniques.

Le site se compose d'une section How-to qui contient des études et des analyses concernant diverses problèmatiques technique.

Au fur et à mesure, le site s'alimentera de nouvelles fonctions telles que :
la mise à disposition d'outils/utilitaires en ligne
une boutique en ligne permettant le téléchargement d'outils gratuits ou payants
un service de questions/réponses professionnelles
...(et plus encore)

Vincent G.

Features analysis

Vincent GUIGUI — 2007-09-02T16:06:29Z

Google AdSense is the service from Google which allows to insert ads on your website and to be paid in proportion with the number of visitors clicking on the ads.

Two Adsense services exist: The AdSense Standard and the less known AdSense Premium.

Preamble

Before starting the description of the AdSense services and in the purpose of training you to the technical computerese, here is a glossary:

Advertisement: ads banner
Advertiser: company that wants to advertise about itself on others websites. An advertiser is a company ready to spend money to increase the number of its clients.
Editor: Individual or a company owning a website and wishing to be paid for displaying ads.
Advertising sales division: Company (to be specific Google) linking the advertiser to the editor. Obviously, this linkage is not unpaid (a percentage of the incomes generated is collected by Google).
CPM: Amount paid by the advertiser for 1000 displays of his ads.
eCPM: Conversion of the CPC in average cost estimated for 1000 ads display
Daily budget: Maximum amount that the advertiser wish to spend daily for one ads.
CPC (Cost Per Click): Cost price of one click for an ads chosen by the advertiser.
...

AdSense ads profitability

AdSense ads profitability depends directly on the advertiser budget.

The advertiser sets via the Google AdWords service (which enables to manage the internet ads campaign) a maximum daily budget for the diffusion of his ads as well as their cost per click (CPC). Obviously, the higher the CPC the more often the ad will be displayed et will be well positioned in the banner and the more profitable the ads will be for the editor. But, once the budget is spent, the ad is not visible anymore for the day.

With the keywords generator AdWords, the advertiser can see, together with choosing the keywords of his campaigns, a cost and positioning estimation of his ads according to the CPC.

Some statistics help to establish which keywords or ads theme are currently the most profitable for the editors (the one for which the advertisers have enough money to set a high CPC for ads corresponding to these themes):
Loan
Mortgage
Car insurance
Broadband
Flowers
...

In order to display profitable ads (with high CPC) on his website, the editor have to display pages talking about profitable themes (in the case of contextual ads) or to force the ads targeting by keywords (Only for Premium).

What about Google?

Google earn a part (non quantified) of the budget sets by the advertiser, the rest is shared proportionally between the editors according to the view pages and especially according to the number of clicks on their website.

How to integrate Google AdSense into a website

Google is always making a good job and the integration of Google AdSense into the editor website is really easy. A Javascript code generated by the AdSense tutorial has just to be copied and pasted.

Usage :


 <script type="text/javascript"><!--
 google_ad_client = "pub-NUMERO_DE_CLIENT";
 google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; // Couleur de fond
 google_color_link = "336699"; // Couleur du titre de l'annonce
 google_color_url = "336699"; // Couleur du lien de l'annonce
 google_color_text = "333333"; // Couleur du corps de l'annonce
 google_color_border = "336699"; // Couleur de la bordure de l'annonce
 google_ad_width = 468; // Largeur de l'annonce
 google_ad_height = 15; // Hauteur de l'annonce
 google_ad_format = "468x15_0ads_al_s"; // Format de l'annonce
 //--></script>
 <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script>

Each line starting by "google_" is one of the ad's parameter, the last line asks Google to display an ad with the parametres previously defined.

AdSense Standard

The ads are contextual, which means that the ad is chosen by Google according to the contents of the page that displays the ad. For instance, if inside the editor website, a page is talking about wedding, the ads display on this particular page will surely be (it will depends on the words used) in keeping with wedding. Totally different annonces can be displayed on each of the pages of the website depending on their content.

Analyses criteria

In order to distinguish some of the ads in order to follow the incomes rigorously, the editor can creates analyses criteria (or Channel). a criteria is an ad parameter.

Usage :


 google_ad_channel ="4988201205";

The editor can affect the same criteria to a whole ensemble of ads (those displayed at the end of the page, those displays in one of the website section, those displayed in a forum, in the company description...) in order to group the reports (see below) the incomes generated by these pages.

Screening

The Editor can screen the ads in order to prevent some advertiser to display their ads on his website (concurrents for example).

Targeting per section

It is possible to force or prevent the contextual analyses for parts or sections of pages thanks to the targeting per section

Usage :


 <!-- google_ad_section_start(weight=IMPORTANCE) -->
 Texte...
 <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

The parameter "weight=..." is optional ( by default it is equal to "medium"), it can take the values "ignore", "low", "medium", "high" and it allows to balance the page sections for the analysis.

Income report

Google supplies a quite complete interface to check the incomes. The reports can be screened by criteria or by date. Report generation and e-mail sending can also be planned.

Links
Login AdSense page
AdSense service description

AdSense Premium

These kind of account is reserved for website having more than 10 millions of pages seen per month.

Google strategy is to favoured those who are the most profitables. Premium is not only giving access to all the standard function from AdSense but also allows a better customization of the ads in order to increase their impact on the visitors and thus the number of clicks (remember, "at least 10 000 000 pages seen per month").

With an account AdSense Premium, the editor have access to:
Customizable ads formats
More accurate screening and targeting functions
Help for websites optimisation
Technical help by a commercial engineer
A personnal account manager

parametrizable ads format

Google can gives (sparingly) informations to customize ads format. You will have to strongly insist on the commercial manager in order to activate some functions.

For instance, it is possible to force the opening of the advertiser website in a new window (popup instead of replacing the current page) simply by adding the suffix "_new" in the ads format:

Usage :


 google_ad_format = "160x600_as_new";

Relevance for the editor: the visitor is not definitively diverted to the advertiser website.

Relevance for the advertiser: the visitor can keep the advertiser website open even if he wants to surf on the editor website. le site de l'éditeur.

Relevance for Google: By staying on the editor website, the visitor keeps seeing ads.

Customizable ads format

If the basics parameters are not enough, the editor can pass in manual mode and manage his own ads format. Some Javascript coding is necessary for this procedure in order to build the aspect from a data table sent by Google.

Usage :


 google_ad_output = "js";

Relevance for the editor: Better ads integration according to the graphic standards of the website. The visitor will click more easily (maybe involuntarily) on an integrated ad.

Relevance for the advertiser: More clicks on the ads but less visual impact (the original identity of the ad/advertiser is replaced by the editor choice).

Relevance for Google: More clicks!

Ads targeting

The Editor can force the ads not to refer to the context (which means that the ads won't be dependant upon the pages contents), the ads will be thus targeted from specific keywords. The editor can specify 1 to 4 keywords so Google can choose which ad to display. Usage :


 google_kw_type = "broad";
 google_kw = "motclé1 motclé2 motclé3 motclé4"

Relevance for the Editor: Even the pages with too light (lots of images) or too various (too many themes in one page) text content will display relevant ads.

Relevance for the advertiser: His ads are displayed more often.

Relevance for Google: Clicks are generated even by hollow pages.

Be careful when using this function, even if it is technically feasible to display ads with high click rates on empty pages (if the keywords are carefully chosen!), Google deontology wants that a thematic link exists between the page and the ads.

Targeting by named section

Targeting by section is more complete and allows to name sections in order to target an ad according to the content of a specific section.

Usage :


 <!-- google_ad_section_start(name=NOM_DE_LA_SECTION, weight=PONDERATION) -->
 Texte...
 <!-- google_ad_section_end(name=NOM_DE_LA_SECTION) -->

The parameter "google_ad_section" has to be used in order to target the contant to analyse.

Usage :


 google_ad_section="NOM_DE_LA_SECTION"

For instance, a page can display an ad based on the analysis of the main text but excluding the text from the navigation menu [1] and display another ad based on the visitors comments.

Exemple :


 <!-- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -->
 Texte à exlure de l'analyse...
 <!-- google_ad_section_end -->
 ...
 <!-- google_ad_section_start(name=fiche_produit,weight=high) -->
 Description du produit...
 <!-- google_ad_section_end -->
 ...
 <!-- google_ad_section_start(name=commentaires,weight=high) -->
 Commentaires des consommateurs...
 <!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Links
Login AdSense page
AdSense service description

[1] A navigation menu is often placed in the beginning of the file, thus it is a non negligible content for the contextual analysis (and for the web engines). Unfortunately, a menu often contains many neutral or generic words with no link with the real content of the page. The page contextual analysis is then not relevant. The solution is either to modify physically the place of the menu inside the html file and to replace it dynamically with a style sheet CSS or, to use a balancing system of the sections whose operating is particular to the analysis engine.

For Google, the main cash cow is the advertier. Thus, the advertiser has a lots of means for customizing his ads in order to make them more relevant. The standard editor gots somehow a raw deal (even if he gets incomes) because he is used just as the advertising room for Google.

By having an AdSense Premium account, the editor (who will be called "Partner") will become as important (if not more) as the advertiser.

Google is thus playing on two boards, he is trying to make everyone happy but there is always on more priviledged.

Finally, the Google AdSense service is very complete and is able to staisfy everyone, from the small blogger to the multinational comapny.

The incomes depends mainely upon the traffic of the website (the number of visitor has an impact on the number of clicks) and upon the pages contents (the content has an impact on the ads screening).