Arctic Surf Designs

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HistoryEdited Dec 21, 2012 2:23 PM by admin…

Arctic Surf Designs is a small company based in Ottawa, Ontario. We currently perform two primary functions; a retail side and software design side. Our software background is in rail traffic design systems and telecom real-time software, Having designed real-time software for both CN Rail Traffic Control Systems and Bell Northern Research (BNR/Nortel).

Recently, Arctic Surf Designs has designed and written multiple IOS apps. See all of them listed here in .

Our latest is Word-A-Maze

Word-A-Maze is now available in the iTunes App store

Some screenshots from the iphone version of the game

Our transit apps include TTCfetch

, OCfetch,

LAfetch

& DCfetch

. Serving the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Ottawa, Washington DC. and Los Angeles.

Our first app OTAmap

is used to help Digital TV owners point their antennas. The support page can be found here.

The software design side specializes in web server applications and mobile applications. The web server applications are primarily PERL databases, on-line applications and dynamically generated HTML.

All in-house web sites are driven with HTML and PERL with the occasion java and PHP. Mobile applications are primarily for the iPhone/iPad. In the new year we may take a chance on RIM's recovery and do a Blackberry BB10 app or two.

Previous designs have included applications for the Apple Newton and shareware applications for network based PCs and Mac use (ie POSwebware)

The businesses computers are primarily Mac wherever possible. At the moment between the design arm and the retail business, we use 16 Macs and 3 PCs. The macs include MacBooks, a Powerbook, 20” Pedestal iMac (a classic), couple of G4 towers, couple of G5 towers and quite a few mac minis (our workhorses), Mac Air 13", and a mac mini server 2010. We also have iPads, a new retina iPad, iPhone 3G, iPhone 4 and iPhone 5 for testing.

Not my picture,

not my fingers and

not my white macbook

Software projects for the retail business includes Special Events Management and Photo Kiosk Applications. MotoPhoto Bayshore, MotoPhoto Carlingwood has printed over 50,000+ Santa photograph packages over the last 7 years. Customers choose any combination of 13 packages at the village. Packages include sheets of 8x10, 5x7, 4x6 and wallets. 99% of all ordered packages are printed on true photographic prints and available for pickup within 5 minutes. This setup, unique in North America is due to our proprietary software. Other special event software include live model shoots, autocropped to 8x10 B&W with color sponsor logos and model names automatically added to print and available immediately after the shoot. Special event software is run on iMacs and Mac mini’s, however are unix/server based. The printing is done with a Noritsu D701 printer.

Last year we ran our software at the St. Laurent Mall and had one of the best years ever. We printed more than 20,000 Christmas cards and 5,000 gift tags. We printed over 43,000 prints, enough to run 6.8kms in length if laid end to end. 99.5%+ were all printed within 4 minutes of the order in Santa's village being executed!

2005 Bayshore Shopping Centre
2006 Bayshore Shopping Centre, Carlingwood Shopping Centre
2007 Bayshore Shopping Centre
2008 Bayshore Shopping Centre, Carlingwood Shopping Centre
2009 Carlingwood Shopping Centre
2010 Carlingwood Shopping Centre
2011 St. Laurent Centre
2012 St. Laurent Centre

We are the "Kings of Santa Photos", now more than 8 years in three different malls. We have seen it all. Every year we add features, tweek the software and get better! This year we wrote a private iPad app to show the customers the pictures for selection, immediately after they are taken. I am sure we have many North America (world) firsts. No one has such a wide choice of packages, as quick a pickup, and an iPad app for display of event photos. Some screenshots of the iPhone version are below:

This year we also added the option of photo Christmas cards in French and Finnish (Jeffs twins Finnish 2012 St. Laurent Santa Photos). Another new feature is the ability of re-ordering pictures from previous days in the village, with the photographer pulling up and re-displaying all original pictures taken. Previously we only did re-orders at the photo pickup area, without the review.

We also wrote a public iPhone/iPad app to allow customers to enter an order number and password, to retrieve low resolution thumbnails of their santa pictures. Too low to print but fine to email to friends and family or screen saver. The pictures can then be emailed or saved to their photo gallery with the app. Not sure if this will see the light of day though. Here are some screenshots:

After Santa 2012 is complete, we plan to write a public app to automatically send iPhone/iPad pictures to a "Net Order Folder", automatically allowing instant printing to Noritsu and Fuji professional printers. This may be useful to both photolabs and independents or the odd person with a $50,000 printer in their family room.

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