9
edits
Grapevine: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Change version history. Alex Hudson definitely renamed it to Inform and he left in 1999 so 2003 was clearly wrong.
No edit summary |
(Change version history. Alex Hudson definitely renamed it to Inform and he left in 1999 so 2003 was clearly wrong.) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
Grapevine was the name for YSTV's service of still advertisments and promotions between programmes. This was first used some time in the 1980s using primitive Teletext-style technology | Grapevine was the name for YSTV's service of still advertisments and promotions between programmes. | ||
This was first used some time in the 1980s using primitive Teletext-style technology, and old VHS archive tapes from the era which were recorded directly from the network output before a programme started are thought to be the only evidence of this system. | |||
==Versions== | |||
It has been revamped a number of times, usually to improve graphics. | |||
The PC version was by [[Adam Baxter]] written in Visual Basic, and updated in {{unsure|1998}} by [[Chris Parker]] still in Visual Basicbut this time supporting a wider range of sizes and colour depths of display bitmaps. However this version suffered from storing a running ticker (below the bitmap portion) in a CSV file which wasn't escaped, so ticker items enclosed in quotes would crash the program leaving a Windows 3.11 error box being broadcast. | |||
Later {{unsure|1999}} it was migrated to a Linux machine by [[Alex Hudson]] after the cache memory failed on the old machine, and at this point it was renamed from Grapevine to Inform. | |||
Most recently in 2005 when it was made possible to manage it online and use full-resolution photographs for the first time. | |||
==Naming== | |||
The name is thought to originate thought the way the service spread information across campus - ie. "Heard it through the Grapevine". | |||
Since 1999 it has been known as primarily as [[Inform]], although is essentially the same service. The name [[Inform]] had been in use for the conference service provided by YSTV for sometime, however the name of the student service was changed to match as it was felt to more accurately describe the service. | |||
[[Image:grapevinelove.jpg|thumb|left|Grapevine Valentine's Day Special]] | [[Image:grapevinelove.jpg|thumb|left|Grapevine Valentine's Day Special]] | ||