The times when the Internet took place mainly on desks, on leberwurstgrau desktop PCs with bulky tube monitors, are long gone. Recent studies show us again and again the most obvious, how mobile modern network is now. Experts are predicting about 28 million smartphone sales in the United States alone in 2013 and are expecting more smartphones than people on the earth towards the end of the year.
More important than ever: tests under real conditions
But not only the number of internet-enabled devices has risen exponentially in recent years. New product generations, operating systems, display sizes, hardware features, software variants and application areas regularly find their way to the market.
Open Device Labs: A Grassroot Movement
Just a few years ago, the iPhone helped the mobile Internet to breakthrough and later the iPad launched the tablet boom, so today we are faced with every new acquisition before the spoiled for choice between tens of different providers, technologies and form factors. And improvement is not in sight: Smart Glasses, Watches and other Wearables have already rushed to the desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs and game consoles of yesterday, all of which are raging around our personal range. And tomorrow?
ODL is not equal to ODL
The challenges of the newly-acquired plurality of end-users can not be deprived of anybody who wants to offer content over the Internet - whether websites, apps or e-books. Developers of digital services are increasingly confronted with the problem of having to take more and more applications and constellations into account in order to ensure the quality of their work.
Hands on: test in the Open Devise Lab
The testing on a representative selection of real devices is becoming more and more a luxury in view of the exploding variety, which can be achieved by individual developers and small developer groups. Software-based simulations are only possible to a limited extent: Hardware, input methods, Internet connectivity or the web browser used play a decisive role for the qualitative assessment - aspects that simulators can not allow conclusions to be drawn today or in the future.
But how can a test lab be realized with real devices and manageable effort?
When the web designer and author Jeremy Keith opened the doors of his agency in April 2012 and publicly invited the readers of his blog to use the available test equipment collectively and free of charge, he was probably not aware of the scope of his appeal. The first OpenDevice Lab (ODL) had become a reality, and within a very short time a highly motivated community was ready to implement Jeremy's example elsewhere. Today, about one and a half years later, more than 70 such labs have already been registered - and a good 30 more are being prepared worldwide. With officially 16 labs, the United States currently represents the largest share of open test labs.
How do Open Device Labs work, and what is the motive? One thing they want to do is to make the public as accessible as possible to a very representative selection of web-enabled test equipment. A table, a chair, a few used, but functioning smartphones, decent WLAN and maybe an inviting shield are sufficient in the simplest case to run an OpenDevice Lab (that the practice soon becomes much more complicated, probably not surprising) Code>
No matter how much effort a laboratory is doing, the public invitation to the development community is always the focus. But it is not just the visitors who benefit from the offer of the OpenDevice Labs. The operation and the associated opening-up to the outside can have many positive side effects, especially for agencies as an operator: the addition of an additional competence network, the general reputation gain and the fact that an ODL can create many exciting contacts with developers, To name a few.
Everyone can set up and run an OpenDevice Lab. There is no blaupause for new ODLs - fortunately, they have to orient themselves to the local characteristics, in order to present a realistic offer to the respective developer scene. Behind the labs registered today are individual web developers as well as small and medium-sized agencies, well-known accessory manufacturers or large software houses.
As varied as the resources and motives of individual ODL operators are, so is the situation on the ground - not only with regard to the technical equipment or the range of ready-to-use devices. In Düsseldorf and Berlin the labs are housed in the local Coworking Spaces. While the equipment is almost continuous and accessible, it is not always possible to find a competent contact person who can advise or advise visitors.
On the other hand, at locations like Nuremberg or Frankfurt am Main, where the ODLs are operated by agencies in their premises. It is true that visitors here have to coordinate their desired dates with the operators, but they are more likely to have knowledgeable colleagues within reach who can at least get a good instruction and maybe even a tip.
The actual course of a test session differs from Lab to Lab - not least because of the different nature of the projects being tested. While in some places the testing of native apps or various digital publishing formats is possible, it is especially websites that are under the microscope. In most cases, the developers are free to decide how much time they spend with the devices or how often they want to return to testing. Some ODLs even offer to rent individual devices for outdoor use.
No take without giving
It is often possible to integrate your own equipment (laptop with development environment) into the network in order to be able to correct errors directly on the spot. Typically, Open Device Labs are equipped with special software that simplifies parallel testing on many platforms.
Tools such as Adobe Edge Inspect and Ghostlab provide ways to remotely control web browsers from multiple devices, navigate web pages, examine source code directly on their devices, or create screen shots. Extensive tests with specific devices are also possible: Many ODLs use special, partly self-designed fixtures and display racks, which allow for the extraction and individual operation of individual components.
Visibility is still missing
Where do all the test equipment come from? ODL operators often provide the bulk of the inventory, supplemented by donations from developer, friend or family circles. But also companies in general - and equipment manufacturers in particular - offer ODLs the opportunity to prove themselves as sponsors and committed supporters. The concept of freely accessible "gecrowdsourcten" and shared device pools is simply appealing and convincing fast. In many labs, not only device donations are welcome: during the construction and operation of the necessary infrastructure certain hardware, software and the one or the other euro are often needed.
Even if the concept of the Open Device Labs is comparatively fast, it is not a self-runner yet. Hardly anybody spontaneously comes up with the idea of looking for a public test lab for web-enabled devices without first having learned about it. To promote public perception, many labs present themselves with their own websites, are active in social networks and operate more or less intensively public relations work. For example, the mini-conference border: none, which was recently organized by the ODLs in Nuremberg and Düsseldorf, focuses on the subject.
Basically, the ODL scene is well intertwined, eg via Twitter. Due to the decentralized structure, the advertising campaigns of individual sites are, however, all too easily lost in insignificance - a circumstance that the ODL Admin Meetup, which was organized for the first time in October 2013, aims to counteract by developing joint strategies.
It's all about the
There is no doubt that testing in OpenDevice Labs not only improves the individual tested product, but also contributes to the quality of the Internet as a whole. Some developers, but more often their clients, are not really aware of the importance of the cross-platform and device-wide development - or do not want to bear the necessary effort. But Open Device Labs can benefit all those involved. It is in the hands of freelancers and agencies to help the idea of more visibility and public perception.
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