Difference between step speed and step acceleration

QPrompt
#1

Just downloaded and dont understand these differences

tia

#2

Hi @gbkasher,

  • Velocity controls how fast and to which direction the prompter is going. It is measured in units of whole numbers called steps.
  • Step Speed controls by how much speed is increased with each step change in Velocity. This is a constant amount that gets added with each change in velocity.
  • Step Acceleration acts as a modifier to speed. It controls by how much speed will be increased as velocity grows.

When you go slowly, you’re able to perceive subtle changes in speed. The faster you go, the less able you are to perceive changes in speed as it increases, so QPrompt increases the it by greater amounts. Acceleration Step controls by how much will the speed change as velocity grows.

#3

Thanks.

I’m not familiar with any of those terms, even though I am very computer literate.

I have adjusted all of the text parameters and now need to understand how to adjust the scroll speed. I have attempted to adjust both of those variables, but either the text is scrolling too slow or too fast. Guess I’m a bit like a male Goldilocks. :slight_smile:

also, how can I contribute to support the project. I’ll be using it from now on.

TIA

(BTW I have traveled to Cupertino many times., In the 80’s I worked for a networking compnay who had a manufacturing plant there)

#4

The terms originate from physics. They’re used here because they help describe speed and acceleration respectively in the formula that computes velocity in QPrompt. Ours is a somewhat complex formula because it also accounts for window resolution and font scaling, but this allows for a consistent experience regardless of your setup.

The default values in QPrompt are:

  • Speed Step: 1.00
  • Acceleration Step: 1.15

Now, the values I personally like to use are:

  • Speed Step: 0.50
  • Acceleration Step: 1.15

Lowering the speed, results in a smoother animation as velocity changes. Acceleration should always be greater than 0, but not too high. 1.15 is my sweet spot, but how much is good is a matter of taste. I also like to use 1.20 for a slightly faster velocity increase.

#6

As for supporting the project, there are many ways.

  • One of the best is to use the early access betas and report any issues you find. Downloads for early access builds can be found in our Patreon blog: https://www.patreon.com/qpromptapp
    These builds are usually reserved for paying members, but we make them available for free as we approach the next release. All of the v2.0 beta builds are available for free right now, some require registration as a free member.

  • Any feature requests or issues found should be reported to: https://feedback.qprompt.app This link will redirect you to our issue tracker.

  • Other ways to contribute include translating the software: https://l10n.qprompt.app

  • And helping write documentation for it: https://docs.qprompt.app

  • You could also do monetary contributions via Patreon, which helps cover the costs of infrastructure, such as this forum and the aforementioned websites. This also gets you access to all the early access builds.

As for Cupertino, I haven’t been there yet. Hope to visit one day. I came up with Cuperino, without the t, doing a play on phonetics that could be easily pronounced in any language. However, I forgot to follow the third rule from the set of rules that was used to create the Kodak brand, which was to avoid words that could be confused with anything else, leading to the confusion…

#7

Ah, I am only using it as a teleprompter for recording a marketing talk. Nothing more involved than that.

For those of us less talented, is there a was to add a faster/slower text speed slider or button?

For contributions, I would be no good as a beta tester.

How about some financial support?

#8

v2.0 introduces shortcuts to jump to different speeds. This feature is already available in early access builds. Keys 1 through 9 from the top of the keyboard can be pressed to jump to said speed. Pressing a modifier key at the same time as the desired speed key can be used to go in reverse at said speed.

The modifier key and most keyboard shortcuts in QPrompt can be configured by going to Main Menu > Control Settings > Keyboard Inputs.

How about some financial support?

Currently Patreon is the only place that has been setup to donate. It’s a recurrent donation, that you can cancel at any time, even immediately after subscribing.

One time donations are not supported at the time of writing, but I’ll try adding other options before v2.0 comes out.

#9

I just realzed you’re probably looking for the Up and Down arrow keys, which can be used to adjust the velocity as you go. These have been there since before v1.0 and can also be reconfigured by going to Main Menu > Control Settings > Keyboard Inputs.

#10

I’ll hold off on modifying my keyboard.

Just to give you my background in computers, I read the entire DOS manual, programmed in Basic, which made me realize I was never meant to be a programmer. My first pc was an 8088 chip.

Thanks for the shortcuts…

I’ll get to patreon tomorrow.

#11

I read the entire DOS manual, programmed in Basic, which made me realize I was never meant to be a programmer

Nice! Programming is still annoying by nature, but it’s gotten better since. Although I’m clear it’s not for everyone.

Basic is before my time but I’m a big computer nerd, so I’ve dabbled in it. The oldest thing I’ve programmed is an NES ROM, written in 6502 assembly, in the year 2022. There’s a member of this community that insinuates I should make a teleprompter for DOS, but that would be way too useless and time consuming for today…

Here is it’s Linux shell cousin, which was made in Python and could be Telnet into:
Teleprompter for Terminals (April fools video)
Teleprompter for Terminals (Source code)

#12

pls send me the link for V2.0.

thx

#13

Most of the most recent builds date from May. I’ve been on a bug fixing spree since and haven’t had time to make new builds. That said, it’s a very stable set of builds as most high priority bugs had been taken care of at that point. Those builds can be found here under Attachments. If you use Windows, download the that ends in .exe. If you use a recent version of Ubuntu, you can download the .deb package that matches your CPU architecture instead,

After those builds I made another set of macOS only builds, which simply extend compatibility to far older versions of macOS than the previous build. Those can be found here.

Lastly I made a Snap package build for x86_64 Linux. That’s one of three universal Linux packages formats, and can be accessed from the Snap store, via the Snap’s beta channel. How to install it is documented in this blog post.