response duration, but not with EPrime

[Leisha]

Despite the programming, I found Intuit very simple to use from the very
beginning. Many scripts are available for it. But E-Prime, by comparison,
is just so much easier & more powerful. I was able to spend more time on
the graphics and the precise look of the computer task that our
investigators needed, rather than wading through code looking for typos.

Leisha Wharfield
Decision Research
Eugene, Oregon, USA

psudevan at uwsp.edu wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Some general responses to this discussion thread:
>
> First, regarding Matlab, I believe Geoff Loftus' lab at the University
> of Washington uses a version of Matlab, along with some of their
> modules, for experimentation. Although the Toolkits were written
> separately from Matlab, my recollection is that they are available to
> any researcher.
>
> Second, I too understand that PST needs to be able to get revenues in
> order to continue doing what they are doing, and I don't feel that the
> costs involved, for a researcher at a small university (like myself) are

> exorbitant. On the other hand, I think ClassMate with its currently
> proposed semester fees will pose some difficulty for a campus like mine
> because students want to keep textbook/software costs down and we have a

> text rental system. Perhaps one could think of some arrangement where
> the software could be made available to the university at an annual cost

> for the use of a certain number of students -- and the university could
> then charge the students a reduced fee. Walter Schneider did say at
> Psychonomics in Minneapolis that they were still exploring alternate
> ways of charging users for ClassMate.
>
> Third, regarding Yoav's question on alternate systems, there is Intuit
> Systems Millisecond which enables folks to write their own code. The
> problem, as Brian points out, is that not everyone would want to write
> their own code. Also E-Prime is a general system that is meant to run on

> a variety of machines, and this generality is bought at some sacrifice,
> in terms of the range of things that it can do -- viz., standalone
> executable scripts, with attendant issues of driver compatibility etc.
>
>
> Sudevan
>
>
>
> P Sudevan
> Professor of Psychology
> Chair, Faculty Senate, UWSP
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: eprime at mail.talkbank.org [mailto:eprime at mail.talkbank.org] On
> Behalf Of Paul Gr
> Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2005 4:48 PM
> To: eprime at mail.talkbank.org
> Cc: baranan at post.tau.ac.il
> Subject: RE: response duration, but not with EPrime
>
>
> Hi,
>
> I'm not sure if it appropriate to discuss non-eprime issues in this
> mailing=20
> list, but I think you're right when you say that deploying or
> distributing=20
> runtime versions of EPrime scripts may be difficult or even impossible.
> I=20
> also realize that software developing companies such as PST require
> people=20
> buying their products to be able to continue their business. I really
> hope=20
> that PST will offer royalty free runtime licences in the near future, so

>
> EPrime users are not restricted anymore to run their scripts at their
> own=20
> sites. Or even better: being able to create standalone exe-versions
of=20
> scripts.
>
> However, beside the licensing strategy, there are also some technical
> issues=20
> that require attention. For instance, the current version of EPrime uses

>
> special drivers to handle response devices. These drivers are required
> for=20
> optimal response processing. So, even if there was a possibility to
> create=20
> standalone executables, you would still have to deploy a proper
runtime=20
> environment. (And don't forget DirectX..., which is a 'must have' for
> this=20
> type of application.)
>
> As far as I know, there are no commercially available alternatives,
> which=20
> don't have the same deployment issues as EPrime. So, for real standalone

>
> executables, you would have to get into  a suitable programming
> environment=20
> and enter the low-level world of WIN32, GDI and DirectX APIs. I know of
> some=20
> projects at other universities, where colleagues are developing their
> own=20
> 'time critical' software libraries. However, compared to using EPrime
> and=20
> the like, you really require in-depth expertise and lots of time...
>
> Let's hope PST (and other's) come up with a customer-friendly solution
> for=20
> this problem. If not, then I expect some kind of open source project
to=20
> arise within a year or so.
>
> Best,
> Paul
>
> P.S.: about matlab and alternatives... beside accurate response
> measurement,=20
> you would also require accurate stimulus delivery. Not sure if matlab
> will=20
> pass that test.
>
>
> >From: yoav Bar-Anan <baranan at post.tau.ac.il>
> >To: eprime at mail.talkbank.org
> >Subject: response duration, but not with EPrime
> >Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 15:39:05 +0200
> >
> >Hi,
> >
> >
> >
> >I often prefer not to use E-Prime for programming experiments,
because=20
> >a
> >simple executable written in C++, VB or even HTML, is easier to deploy.

>
> >However, when an experiment requires response-duration recording and=20

> >accurate timing of events, I always resort to E-Prime, because I know
> they=20
> >invested much effort in accuracy.
> >
> >
> >
> >I wonder whether anyone can suggest other environments which offer=20
> >accurate
> >timing (or tools that can easily produce accurate timing) that can be
> ran=20
> >on most computers without installing anything but the experiment file.
> >
> >
> >
> >On the same note: What do you think about Matlab as an alternative for
> >E-Prime?
> >
> >
> >
> >Thank you,
> >
> >Yoav
>
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