First Impressions: Cowon D2

As mentioned in my post earlier today, I just got my new media player, a Cowon D2. Let me clarify farther: I got this device yesterday. As such, some of my opinions might change with more use.
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Dreamhost List AJAX

I noticed that there was some interest on the Dreamhost forums for AJAX to register for lists. I thought this was a good idea, and upon finding no solution, I set out to make one.

I admit that both this is not terribly easy to set up nor is it terribly hard. You have to modify 1 php file and include the required components on your web page. There is a full readme enclosed to help you get it set up.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment!

Download the code

Free-time (n) – what I may be lacking

Ok, I haven’t forgotten about the cURL tutorial or updating the site. I just happen to be quite busy right now. This weekend I hope to have some time to finish up the cURL stuff (I am working on it, it’s just not done) and hopefully get back to my project. This is somewhat of a reminder to myself as well, so hopefully it works! I also promise to make all of the source code available of both the problems and solutions.

Random cool thing I found: tntnet. I had heard about C++ server pages before, but tntnet is the project that really makes them shine. They claim that it can serve c++ dynamic pages fast than traditional web servers (probably apache) can serve static pages because the c++ pages get compiled. Awesome for speed. The syntax looks pretty nice to for making the views (and you get the c++ goodness for all of the processing).

Back to fun

Ok. I finally am coming to have some free time and have already started making things for the public.

I noticed that there aren’t many (if any) good cURL tutorials that show you some of the power of cURL like manipulating cookies and such. Such a tutorial could be used for good (such as unit testing your work) or evil (trying to program a bot to do something that requires a login). After I get my contrived examples created and can demonstrate them, I’ll write up the tutorial that looks at cURL in more detail. This is supposed to both show users how to use cURL better as well as for site administrators to get an idea what could cause vulnerabilities. I will also discuss ways to create login systems to defeat cURL.

To be posted soon…

Not exactly neglect

Ok so i haven’t posted in almost 20 days. That’s not exactly what I would call being attentive of my blog. Um… sorry? This isn’t exactly a fix. I haven’t gottent any new chillout and my other activities I want to keep hidden for now. Yes, I have been doing something that I will eventually post here. If you’re really curious, my development site is located at dev.quad341.com and does have information about what is going on. Hopefully by mid-April I will have a working example of this project and announce it to the world. I welcome actual inquery and the repository allows for anonymous checkouts. In the mean time, I need more music. Suggestions?

Small update

Well, I was trying to get PreFormance (I think that’s what the one blogging extension is called) set up through my Firefox installation under Linux, but that wasn’t working for a thus unsolved reason. I guess I’ll continue to use the web interface for the time being. Also, there’s a fairly severe security hold in WordPress version 2.1.1. Make sure you update to 2.1.2 as soon as you can. I have other matters that need more immediate attention, but I plan to post more about music soon.

Welcome to DreamHost

I don’t know if any of you have heard of DreamHost, but it is an amazing hosting site. The plans are crazy cheap and give you more bandwidth and space than you would ever imagine elsewhere. It is shared/managed hosting, but you get shell access and have access to most services you would ever want. I’m quite happy. It was a bit annoying to transfer everything (I ended up using scp through a shell thanks to a friend’s suggestion), but otherwise is great. The best part for all of you is that I can now give you a discount for the referral.

Here’s what you have to do:

1. Go to the DreamHost sign up page
2. Set up your account however you would like.
3. At the bottom enter QUADGIFT as your Promo Code to get $10 off of any hosting package you select
4. Finish registration and enjoy DreamHost!

I have nothing but good things to say about DreamHost thus far. I would highly suggest them for anyone looking for a new host.

Server Change – Again

This seems like I did it recently… oh well. It’s been 10 months since I got this server and now I’m abandoning it. I honestly can’t handle the cost of the server with no income from it. The changes that everyone will see should be virtually non-existent. Everything is going to be moved to the new server before the DNS is told to change. As soon as the DNS updates, everyone will be looking at the new server without any changes in view (hopefully).

I should start playing with mod_svn (which will allow web based access to subversion) later and so on. If anything seems to break, feel free to send me an email at quad341@gmail.com. More details will be posted when I finish the transition.

Chillout Mixes Update

Well, I have come to the conclusion that I am going to make it easier for people to be nice who visit chilloutmixes.com. I just took the time to finally make it look reasonably good via a free template (and extensive modding). I have succumb for pretty much begging for money though. I’m going to put Google AdSense (text ads) in the left column soon and already have a PayPal donate button. There is absolutely no requirement to donate, but every cent is appreciated. Because I realize that after someone donates (or even some who chose not to donate) may not want to look at the ads and donate button anymore, there is a link in that column that will disable the ads from showing by setting a cookie on your computer. I appreciate any ad clicks or donations very much.

Also, I am expecting a Clint Mansell cd within the next week that I will review.

Enjoy!

Web Shame!

I was browsing the BBC news as I frequently will and found a very depressing article for all web designers. Most people who know me and have ever asked about web development have heard me preach about standards and accessibility. I realize my site itself is pretty plain, but it is very functional for screen readers among other things. I even verify it works on mobile devices (though I can’t post with my blackberry. That failed horribly). I know that most people don’t like to think about it, but it is really not that hard to keep things accessible. All of the people who need them will love you for it. If you have a really accessible site, I would love to even show it off. For a nice example, take a look at Molly Holzschlag’s homepage. Molly is an advocate of web standards and a good designer to boot. She is a good author and excellent speaker on the topic of web standards and accessibility. Her site is a good example.

So what is most of the web like according to Nomensa (referenced in the BBC article)? Almost all major sites do not even provide basic access to those needing assistance such as screen readers or magnifying tools. That is not acceptable. We as web developers need to think about more than just how pretty things are. Standards are your friends! Follow them and all of these problems will virtually go away. The article is a good read. Even if you do follow standards. The article is ‘Most Websites’ failing disabled.

Oh and if I remember, I have some music news to post as well.