Always Digital. Now Mediaboard.
About the Developer
André Gansel, IT Enthusiast
Over the years I have had the good fortune to work internationally and with many people. Team and professional colleagues, business owners, artists and freelancers have come to appreciate my computer knowledge, commitment, passion for IT and my solutions in the areas of multimedia, software and web development and have always enjoyed working with me. With family and friends, I’ve been able to turn utter despair on the computer, with a little patience, back into happy smiling users.
That was short!
In the full article you can read more about my work and our current “Mediaboard” project, as well as some thoughts about digital development since I’ve been in the business.
Best wishes, André
20 Years Multimedia
My Expertise
My school report does not lie 🙂 I did of course pay attention, but only when things were interesting. At the end of the 90s, when I trained to become a software developer, the story was quite different. My curiosity and will to learn were limitless and even my spare time was spent at the computer. So I found my future career in multimedia and software development, web and media design, API application networks and QBO, IT portfolio management and the optimisation of digital workflows.
My portfolio includes IT and multimedia projects of all kinds, from interactive learning tools and smart homes to cultural events and the hospitality industry. Here I helped many companies in Europe and the Middle East to implement integrated and optimised workflows through adaptations or new developments. Time and costs have been saved and working environments made safer, more ergonomic and more efficient.
Identify and Improve
What spurs me on
Working in the IT industry for many years has always been an ongoing adventure. Seeking solutions for something that seems almost impossible to solve, working creatively or sometimes brooding until your head is smoking never makes this job boring.
Since the mid-’90s, when I was experimenting with my first Robotron computer and discovering my interest in IT until today, so much has changed and there have been ingenious new opportunities in the industry. I’ve never specialized in any particular programming language or technique to always learn with a new project and stay open to change.
In today´s digital age with a tech industry that is always looking to the future, where people and machines are becoming smarter and companies are always looking for new answers to their customers’ needs, we as software developers are encouraged to think creatively about what product types need to be developed for the market.
From Robotron to robots
How things change
Technology never sleeps: what my dear Robotron just about managed to process all those years ago, happens a billion times faster today. Megabytes that were the maximum storage space on my computer, now buzz through the Internet as high-quality MP3 sound. What we could not have imagined twenty years ago has become normality for our children.
Education is becoming digitally interactive and those who go digital not only have to think about WLAN and laptops, but also need to consider the kind software they choose to use.
Recognising, learning and applying trends is what makes my job so interesting and varied.
Robotron GDR Computer,
20MB hard drive, 640kB RAM, DOS
A high quality MP3-Track could easily fill the disk space.
Digitalisation has always been
What has not changed
The desire of companies to take advantage of digital development, achieve greater efficiency, seek individual solutions and develop a profitable and sustainable way of working was and remains the status quo of business. Software offers many interesting and varied avenues to make this possible.
Digitalisation is a story that is rewritten every day, through new ideas, new technologies and new technical challenges.
The Digital Flood
Surfing the waves
The digital flood of new information sources and formats offers new opportunities for us to access valuable digital resources and information that we can use for business, education, or private purposes.
Platforms that offer us the storage of important resources are available, but each one is limited at a certain point, whether this be an unsupported format or a lengthy process for storing files and links, not to mention the lack of customisation, or the need for subscriptions, logins and passwords.
How can we prioritise digital resources and information as we navigate through the digital flood? Our solution has been to develop a tool that can handle these difficulties, yet still be easy to use, have endless customisation options, and moreover distribute all resources further.
I have combined my technical know-how as a programmer, my experience with customers and my knowledge of digital agility and productivity requirements to develop Mediaboard as a universal app that allows users to work dynamically in an integrated and targeted way with digital media content.
Education, Business, Private
About Mediaboard
Mediaboard and your digital resources
Every piece of digital media has its own life. As we collect more and more of them, we drop them into folders or bookmarking tools for further use or archiving. No matter how much we work in a structured way, over time a mix of valuable and non-valuable digital resources emerges. This happens because of lack of time, lack of concentration, lack of discipline or simply because a resource is no longer relevant for the work at hand.
How can we do it better?
With Mediaboard, a universal app that gives you a whole new experience when working with digital resources, media and formats by allowing you…
- to collect
Any digital format – Combine documents, videos, music, YouTube, web links, and other digital content from multiple sources into one visual board that is independent, dynamic, and easy to use. - to organise
Structure, Style, Show – Give your files and digital resources face and character. Enjoy working with a modern, elegant interface and many design and layout components. - to brand
Many customising options – Create strikingly beautiful boards with numerous layout and styling options. Sort and search, create custom designs, and apply various effects and animations. - to present
Mediaboard supports you with dynamic presentation processes – During and after your presentation with Mediaboard you will always be able to react quickly to questions asked, supported by different kinds of work samples, videos, documents or links that can be called up in a much faster, more agile and targeted way than on a desktop or from a company server.
- to share
Share. Charging. Ready to go – Share digital content with teams, customers, or via the cloud and portable storage devices, or import content directly to your board as ready-to-use content packages. - to publish
Mediaboard Content Packages – Become part of a growing content sharing community that collects, designs, packages, and shares valuable information sources. - to access external data
Instead of clicking through endless search results, you can save time by finding, importing, and running Mediaboard Content Packages with selected digital resources right from your board.
A Fresh Perspective
Mediaboard encourages you to think more carefully about your digital resources, such as how they can be arranged and structured so that you get to know your content thoroughly and can realise its full potential. Unlike files that you use and save for later, Mediaboard cards are living resources that can be branded, presented and shared in a unique way and that carry a strong visual impact.
Mediaboard offers you a dynamic way to prepare content in various formats that can be displayed or presented as a digital board on any Windows PC, laptop, tablet, smartboard, beamer or touchscreen and also shared in whole or in part. Each board can be copied or selected categories and cards exported as a Mediaboard Content Package for import into other boards.
Mediaboard Content Packages are the fastest way to share or distribute selected and branded digital content.
Use the cloud the right way
Cloud functionality is available to all of us. Once you have an email account with a major online provider, you’ll almost certainly have cloud storage available and your computer can synchronise content. The question is whether you’re making the most of the cloud when you’re working with digital media. So far, you share your personal files, documents, studies, videos, or images by sending a link to the resource or using a shared cloud folder. Working with shared resources in this way is often not sufficient for teamwork or to work collaboratively in a clear and concise way because the files are cryptically or incomprehensibly named, or hidden away in folders.
We recognised this and developed Mediaboard as a cloud-ready, portable desktop app for Windows, to significantly simplify the management of digital resoures. Your digital resources can be collected and shared as a board on a cloud drive, giving you the opportunity to use it as a customisable cloud front-end. Whatever design you choose and whenever you add content to your board this will be available for the other people in the same way. In addition, simply take Mediaboard with you on a USB stick or any other storage device, connect it to another computer and run the board as created.