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I took a bit of a PC break, but now I’m back and working on a new application. The application allows the clustering of data (hence its name: Cluster), along with meta-data, genres, and so on. Here are the reasons why Cluster is now in development …

Web-Comic

I’ve wanted to do a comic for a little while now, but I really want to categorise the graphical elements that would be used within the comic so they could be found quickly for re-use later. Sure, this could be done within Windows Explorer as normal, but that just isn’t enough. I want to apply meta-data. Lots of it. I want to know what was used where, and when.

This is where Cluster comes in. Cluster can be used to create the folder hierarchy, just like Explorer, but also attach various pieces of meta-data to each item within that structure. Sounds like pretty standard stuff, but see the story section below for expansion on this scenario.

Story

A lot of people probably want to write some kind of story, and like a lot of people, I haven’t gotten around to it yet. But one day! One reason is that I want a system to keep track of my characters, locations, items, and so on. I’ve checked out the novel writing software out there and it’s, seemingly, mostly crap.

Cluster’s main power lies in its plug-in architecture. It is able to create – and consequently view and write – various kinds of documents by the virtue of its plug-ins. If a plug-in is installed that has been created to handle images, then Cluster can then view, edit, and write images. The same goes for text, audio, and all kinds of other data.

To help with the story scenario above and make Cluster more than just a glorified version of Explorer, there will be a novel – as in a story – plug-in that tracks data on characters, locations, items, plot, and so on. We can apply this plug-in to the Web-Comic scenario above and now we’ll have character (and locations, etc) information attached to any graphical elements that happen to represent a character or even an item.

Paperless Office

Not that I work in an office, or anything, but the amount of paper in this place has been annoying me for a while now. So I went and bought a scanner – an Epson Perfection V200 – with the aim of making everything digital. The requirements for this scenario is straight-forward: sifting through images in Explorer or a viewer would have just sucked. Using Cluster’s items view, along with attached keywords, makes it a more pleasant experience.

Testers Wanted

Anyway, there are the reasons why I am working on Cluster and why I’m soliciting testers. If the sound of Cluster appeals to you at all and you’d like to help shape the software, then feel free to contact me using the method below. To qualify as a tester, you, ideally, would need to be using Cluster to organise your (real, test, doesn’t matter) data; I don’t just need someone to run it, click a few buttons, and be done.

I’d like real-world usage. If you would like to apply to test, then please click on the link below to be taken to the Cluster support page. Fill out the details, putting your name and email address in the From field, making a note that you’d like to be a tester and which version of Windows you’re using in the message body, and I’ll get back to you. Cluster is a .NET 2.0 application, so you’ll need to have that installed – the link to it is available on the product page.

View: Screenshots, Apply as a Tester