Introducing Two Versions of Primezero Chinese Click IME … or … Repeat After Me: Both Betas Are Buggy (10 Times Fast)
November 30, 2007 – 8:48 pm
Both Betas Are Buggy.
I am happy to share the Primezero Click IMEs with you! These are designed to help me find Chinese characters on Primezero Chinese Tools using the lookup chart. Hope this helps you.
There are two versions: Basic and Standard.
Basic Version
The Basic Version is designed for the new and first-year Chinese students.
I wanted the Basic version to be just plain simple, with only about 2000 characters available for click-entry. I also wanted the characters to be more legible since they will not be as familiar to new learners.
Standard Version
The Standard Version is designed for more advanced learners with a larger set of characters available.
I wanted the frequently-used characters (red+gold) to be highlighted so students can easily pick them out. These are also good reference points for finding similar characters.
In the kanji/radical lookup chart, I wanted to show users selections with more than 100 characters, so I highlighted that too (gray+lightblue).
So, pretty much a mess. 
More work needed.
Development Notes
I needed to complete the new Primezero IME within a few days of brainstorming because I would just have code nightmares otherwise.
After wireframing the new Click IME, started experimenting with some layouts. One of them included a translucent DIV layer with the some cheesy animations for the characters. Then I changed my mind and just said to myself, “get this out the door right away” …
So, I will get some rest now, then get working again soon …
