Monday, January 31, 2011
Spent most of the weekend working with the Java Sound API. Ran into several issues mostly having to do with data delay or the best methods to retrieve and stream audio data.
The following illustration shows where most of the problems occurred.
I was able to sync this process so that everything works insofar as the sound element for the project. I need to add another servlet that will act as a user interface for requests. The new servlet will drive the sound process I have illustrated.
The Java Sound API is quite sophisticated, however there are many wrong turns one can take. Took me a weekend to make several wrong turns.. before finding the right ones.
Monday, January 24, 2011
I have been working on a Java Sound Applet for a project I am thinking of implementing.
BTW: Not me in the recording.
The reason I need my own sound? I found that not all of the browsers I tested, handled .wav files in the same manner. Using an applet will ensure all browsers can replay the same files using the same software.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Today, I received a message from a fellow Meetup member about a JR PHP developer spot opening up in the near future. I thought about looking into the position [part time consulting basis]-- so went to the Meetup page to learn more about it. Did not find what I was looking for, however did find a local designer's site.
I have been watching trends on the internet for a long time. Freelancing affords me this opportunity. I also have a "real" background in software technology. HTML, CSS, Javascript, DOM-- would be child's play for someone with my background. That said-- these internet technologies are not easily learned by all. Complicating the issues-- different browser developers integrate standards for these environments differently-- so often "workarounds" have to be used for different platforms [.i.e., Unix, Mac, Windows], or the myriad of browsers available for these different platforms.
Especially when I first started in the Blogging world -- June 2004, I noticed a lot of design shops [as related to blog templates], that perhaps did not understand all of the mechanics of HTML, CSS, Javascript as related to different browsers. I believe a lot of design shops were sued. Almost all of the bookmarks I had for those early design shops are no longer available. Why? Too many problems with client sites and not insuring they worked across the board. Or Copyright infringements.
The local design site I found this morning-- was showcasing a new lawyer's site in their portfolio. My default browser on the Mac is FireFox. Not only was the lawyer's site "unfit" for online publication, but the design shop's had some issues as well- in the popular Firefox browser.
Even if I wanted to act as a consultant for a shop like this-- I would have to pass. Why? Too many mistakes and the lawyer's site was a big red flag. Clearly stated on the design firm's site- "we have Macs". Most designers of the mid 2000s get it. You did not? Learn from what I had the time to observe-- you are asking to be sued.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
New York Times Crossword API from xwordinfo.com. Warning: The following shows the answers to the current day's puzzle.
Another one of those Freelancer.com gig research finds. Is this fair use? At this time-- this is all I am doing with this api.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I collect WordPress themes. All sorts of WordPress themes. Themes for:
- Photographers
- Real Estate Agents
- Food Enthusiasts
- etc.
Here are screenshots of three WordPress themes I downloaded this morning:
WordPress Photo Journalism Theme
WordPress Real Estate Theme
WordPress Pets Theme
QiSoftware can customize any theme to specification. Even taking WordPress themes and converting them to Thingamablog themes. This blog is a Thingamablog, however the template is based on the Hosting-Q Blog WordPress Theme.
The following snapshot is the top level folder of my Wordpress Theme Collection. This is only a partial list. I have a whole folder dedicated to newspaper and magazine themes.
WordPress Theme Collection-- Partial Listing
Click here to see the latest theme activated for the WordPress Support Blog, or this top level directory of 3 themes I maintain online. These themes are not WordPress themes, however could easily be adapted for use with the popular blogging content management software [cms] platform. All of these demonstrations are maintained on hosting-q.com.
I also collect neat utilities and plugins that can be used with themes, either WordPress or plain sites. Utilities include:- Ecommerce Plugins
- WordPress Code Colorer [programmer utility]
- Faders
- Lite Boxes
- etc.
Would love to help you find and customize a blog theme for your site- Contact.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
This morning, I renewed the registration for hosting-q.com, the domain for the web hosting service of QiSoftware. Registration is handled through enom. The current registration period is now good through June 18th 2013.
Enom Receipt
The following is a graphic link to the domaintools website. Click on the domaintools "Registration" tab to see the following data.
Hosting-Q.com Whois Data
Why provide this kind of detail? [1] QiSoftware offers Java Support Hosting to clients without server side Java support for things like the Blogger Calendar and some of the other tools we offer. [2] To show the QiSoftware Web Hosting offering is stable and a core part of the services we offer. [3] To nullify any legal issues or claims as to ownership of Hosting-Q which is not a separate business entity but a service of QiSoftware.
Friday, January 14, 2011
I have been saving up for a fitness elliptical. I have been checking ads and waiting for the one I want to go on sale. Over the weekend-- I noticed Walmart had it on sale for $487.00 but the only way to get free shipping was to have it shipped to the store.
Amazon had the elliptical on sale for $599.00 with free super saver shipping. Then yesterday, it suddenly went on sale for $487.00, too. I emailed family members, whose non-business email addresses I had-- discussing the highly rated elliptical in detail.
By 6:00 p.m. yesterday evening the Amazon offering was back up to $588.00. Why? Walmart was out of stock. By 9:00 p.m. Amazon had reinstated the full $599.00 price tag. Did anyone I emailed click the link to see if it was still available at the price I provided in the email before it went up? Not sure. Though I had two ad links in the email-- neither provided the price from the Amazon site-- so I included it as part of my message. The price I quoted in the emails to family members, is now of course-- wrong.
I am an affiliate with Amazon-- so not only was I hoping to tell them about a great deal-- but also to get the commission for the referrals. I also placed ads for the elliptical on one of my shopping pages. I have one order. If some of you keep up with my personal blog-- you may realize I do not see nor talk to a lot of my family members so anything they may have done as related to the ads-- would not be known to me. Those that I emailed should respond-- if they like.
So the reason for this post? To tell of my recent activities with Affiliate ads, ways to promote, and to discuss the experiment in the sidebar and the reasons for it.
I am a software consultant and like building interfaces for affiliate networks. My experience includes:
- Commission Junction Web Services
- LinkShare Web Services
- Expedia Feeds
- iTunes Feeds
- Amazon Web Services [none in place but have done extensive research].
Demonstrations are integrated within WiredPages.
That said-- the current experiment in the sidebar is not my software. Why? It is too early to tell from yesterday's blitz of emails-- but I feel I have had a lot of problems with re-commissioning [a term like re-gifting] as related to the wrong party. My emails with my affiliate links should have come under different laws. Stronger laws. It would also be harder to change the tracking information in the emails.
This blog is a Thingamablog. What does this mean? The database for the blog sits on my local personal computer. I can republish the entire blog with a click of a button and new html pages will be sent to my server [remix.qisoftware.com] in a matter of seconds [Verizon FiOS key]. It would be harder to maintain someone else's codes on this blog-- when the master version sits offline and easily republished.
I have thought of many different software applications I would like to build for Amazon Associates. I am in an odd position-- so though I think my interfaces are a lot more secure than most-- for me and my situation-- different laws appear to be in place. I am working on having what appear to be temporary measures put in in place for my case-- thrown out or repealed whichever is applicable. As related to email? This should cause several problems if anything is amiss.
The widget in the sidebar is Flash and offered by Amazon to its associates. It should also be secure. Because in my case, it is used in html pages-- that are too easy for me to republish whenever I fee like it-- it should be a deterrent for those that like thinking up new ways to steal proceeds from my sites and revenue streams.
I am always researching on how to make something more secure as related to the internet and e-commerce. I wanted to share some of my research concerns of late-- so that you to, can understand some of the dynamics involved.
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Recently, while watching projects on Freelancer.com I found two great software applications that also provide source code.
jBilling
When it comes to features, scalability, robustness and flexibility, jBilling places itself first in its class. It is the only open source billing system listed in the catalog of the largest consulting companies.
JW Player
With over one million active users, the JW Player™ is the Internet's most popular open source video player. It supports playback of any format the Adobe Flash Player can handle (FLV, MP4, MP3, AAC, JPG, PNG and GIF) and now supports HTML5 too.
Both applications offer source code so for developers-- these are really great finds. I am considering installing JBilling on Hosting-Q to provide a more robust billing system for web hosting clients.
Currently, Hosting-Q does not have web hosting clients-- [sometime ago-- I determined it was not a good idea to host qisoftware.com with Hosting-Q-- hoping to keep others more honest where my interests are concerned], but I am hoping that many will realize the benefits of server side Java support-- even if they themselves are not Java developers.
- Java is less resource intensive than most server script languages [i.e., PHP, Perl, etc.]
- Java class files are not open source, therefore harder to tamper with by those with access to your server. Ecommerce site owners should really start to look at non-opensource solutions wherever possible for their sites. That said, JSP which is Java server side script that is converted to servlet class files at "runtime"-- is less tamper proof than Java class files [servlets/beans].
Why would I, as a Java developer-- in this case provide the benefits of my research? [1] Supposedly, I have a rather small audience base, [2] as a Java developer I can help with custom installations of these products-- which is the reason I found them in the first place and [3] these are Java based tools and I like promoting this software environment. Server side Java is used by a lot of large sites and companies. It is more efficient than server script languages. Java hosting is a bit more-- but worth the faster execution and non-opensource benefits.
