It works! Sprocket.Reader is an IMAP mail server that pulls news feeds from a database. I'm focusing on the iPhone mail client at the moment. It's easy to use and there are no downloads or mods required.
If you are interested in being a beta tester, email me at: xantus at xantus d.o.t org.
Here are screen shots of me reading Slashdot
Today I launched a new site, Cartionary.com. This is part of a new company I've co-founded, with the intent of releasing a variety of niche social sites that are designed to generate high quality user content. It's been a lot of work, a ton of fun, and we're at a point of having some users actually kick the tires (no more car puns, I promise).
A few notes before anybody clicks over:
- The image uploading needs work. We were originally going with the YUI Uploader, but due to too many unfixed bugs and general stability issues we did a hasty switch to SWFUpload. We're still very happy using YUI elsewhere on the site, but their uploader simply doesn't work well enough to use. The source was not available earlier so we weren't even able to submit patches; and bug reports were summarily ignored.
- The visible features are not representative of the "1.0" of the site, which we're hoping to have out by September 1st at the latest. We're going to have an article system inspired by use.perl.org, as well as several other features that will make publishing valuable information an absolute joy.
- It is beta. In the real sense of the word. I'm not publicizing it yet outside of my blog here, and that is intentional. We're not even feature complete, so it could be considered an alpha. Or pre-alpha. Anyway, it is a web application. We don't need a proper release cycle but we do need a proper foundation and starting point. Our hopes are that enough people will get a handle on it and submit bugs and ideas that we can fix those while we're pushing out our killer features".
Thanks!
My project, Sprocket.Socket must have inspired, Michael Carter of orbitd: Comet Daily: Sockets in the Browser
One thing he didn't consider is that you need data framing to handle raw data from sockets correctly.
For instance, if you are parsing lines of data from a socket:
This is a line\r\n
This is another line\r\n
This is
You received a partial line, like the last line above. You need to wait for the rest of the line, and buffer it until you reach a line ending, which in this case is \r\n
I'm a POE programmer, and we have modules that frame data, and we call them Filters.
I have written several data framing filters in JavaScript, inspired by POE filters:
http://svn.xantus.org/sprocket/trunk/Sprocket-JavaScript/js/Ext-ux/Sprocket/
JSON, IRC, Line, etc
I think having pseudo-sockets in the browser is very useful if done right. Sprocket.Socket handles multiple outgoing connections from the browser using only one long polling xmlhttp. A spare xmlhttp request is used for quick sending of data while the other is waiting, so it doesn't have to be woken up. All data is delivered in order.
Sprocket.Socket consists of several parts:
The framework, Sprocket
Sprocket.HTTP plugin. It serves files, fast. Including CGI's
Sprocket.Socket plugin. This proxies the socket requests
An access control module. Controls which hosts the clients can connect to.
The JavaScript library Sprocket.Socket. This handles the pseudo-sockets in the browser
The JavaScript data framing filters, and base class
Extjs, a rich js framework.
This seems like a lot, but I can run one script and fire up a browser to get it to work.
I have a working IRC client built on all of this :)
Stay tuned for more
There is no doubt that Ash Reiter has talent. Just sit back, relax, and listen... If you like her style, let me know. I can post more!
This one is off the cuff, spur of the moment, targeted at many but one (to be unnamed) culprit set it off.
Do not go through pains to disable password remembering features on your login forms. It is annoying, unproductive and makes me regret using your service.
I'm a big fan of letting an educated user choose. By choose, I do not mean "Well, they could always use firebug and remove the autocomplete='off' setting". If you're not going to make it easy to allow my browser to remember the password, please have a timeout of longer than 15 minutes.
This is ridiculous, truly. That and captchas that are nothing more than an image with absolutely no captcha benefits. I could write a simple OCR Firefox extension to crack it, but it isn't worth the time.
As some context, this is for a DNS management interface. Perhaps I do want some automated scripts to be able to modify our DNS records. If throttling is a problem, employ anti-throttling techniques. I fail to see what problem the captcha is truly trying to solve. As they explain it, "the verification code is used to improve performance and prevent unauthorized automated scripts."
Total. Complete. Crap.
Let me let my browser remember my passwords if I so choose. People should realize that the Firefox password manager is probably a touch more secure than a post-it note, which is the obvious fallback.
Do not use a captcha unless you need it. There are plenty of ways to block unauthorized automated scripts, etc. Engineer a solution; block IP addresses and cancel customers who violate ToS.
This is the same thing as DRM with Music. You are only inconveniencing the legitimate customers, and doing nothing to block an automated script. People who want to crack an image captcha and are using a DNS service can do so with ease. You see, they can use Google, too. Just like what you did when you needed a crappy captcha.
I just received some Dreamhost promo keys today.
- 676417881666
- 960545846804
- 053528690806
- 476292312145
- 164667425961
When you sign up at dreamhost with these keys, you get four times the normal disk and bandwidth.
I'm really happy with Dreamhost; I've been a customer for years. My disk and bandwidth increases every week. I'm up to 592gb disk, and 11.9tb xfer which increases 2gb and 40gb every week.
Just sign up here: https://signup.dreamhost.com/ and use one of those codes. Please post a comment if you signed up, so I can mark it off for everyone.
Whenever I load my Vox public page I'm astounded at how few entries are present here. Here's one for the public, since I tend to just write forr my neighborhood only.
The Mac
Color me happy. I opted for the 15" MacBook pro. I'm completely disappointed at this point with the multitouch, but I hope that configurable gestures come out soon. I figure I could probably hook into something and write code, blah blah, but really, I just want it to work the same as any other Apple configuration option. I had to buy a new Airport Extreme base station, because I didn't get the coverage everywhere in my house. That was a great purchase.
The Wife
She's good, and happily pregnant -- half way there. Getting excited and nervous about the second little one running around, because the first is enough work.
The Boy
Wow, grows fast. When I was in YAPC::Asia for a week I missed him like crazy, and when I saw him he had already changed so much. It really is shocking. That and they're little sponges and pick up everything you do. This is both funny and horrifying.
The Fetus
It's a girl! Nuff said.
The Life
I've been astoundingly busy. I had some construction done at my home to make a better office area, and I'll be writing on that later after I get everything wrapped up. I have some exciting things to announce but not there yet.
In other interesting news, a very good friend of mine is running for re-election, and typically runs uncontested. He's a superior court Judge here in Clark County named Judge John Wulle, and yes, I think "Judge" is his first name. The thing that is the most amusing is his opposition claims John is not neutral and fair, yet got up on stage and heckled Chris Gregoir. Getting up on a stage and saying “You are a racist!” is a sure fire way to make friends. When you follow it up with “You hate poor people! You are an elitist!” you sound like the very embidoment of "neutral and fair". Really.
And this is Governor Chris Gregoir, a democrat.
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
