Miscellaneous

Project/Website Status

Submitted by jbreland on Wed, 11/21/2007 - 06:05

I haven't made very many posts lately, so I just wanted to update everyone that may be wondering what's going on. I've been insanely busy with work, both with my day and side jobs, and I just haven't had much time to work on personal projects. I definitely have some stuff in the works, just finding the time to move forward on any it is really hard to do lately.

I released a beta version of Universal Extractor v1.6 a while back now. That's pretty much ready for release right now, and has been for a couple weeks. I just need to polish a few last things related to the installer and language files, update the website with all of the appropriate new information for the release, and then put it out there. I'm hoping to dedicate some time to finishing this up soon.

I've actually begun working on a new version of AutoFLAC as well, but so far changes have mostly been limited to bug fixes and efficiency/workflow updates. I have some ideas for some pretty useful new features (aside from all of the issues that have been discussed in the Hydrogenaudio AutoFLAC thread), but it'll take a while to implement everything and put out a new release. In the meantime, just rest assured that this project has definitely not been abandoned, despite the fact that it's been over a year since the last release.

Less obvious to most visitors are the various website updates I've slowly been working on. Most of this involves restoring administrative functionality that was lost in my migration from PostNuke to Drupal a few months back (for a good example of this, see my last last post), or introducing some "private" features of the website, such as a new webmail system, that's restricted to specific users. I've also been (slowly) working on various other updates and under-the-hood tweaks to the site and server to keep things running as smoothly as possible.

So, yes, I'm still around, and this website (and associated projects) is still under development. Also, even if I'm busy and things are moving slowly, I'll try to at least update my website more than once a month. :-)

Wishlist Updated

Submitted by jbreland on Wed, 11/21/2007 - 05:46

I finally got around to updating my Wishlist earlier tonight. I'd been putting it off for some time because I still haven't completely finished re-implementing the admin interface that allows me to add/update/remove items since moving to the new site a few months back. However, since Christmas is coming and I'm already being asked, "what do you want?", I figured it's about time to start working on it again. I can now add items through the administrative web interface (woo-hoo), but removing and modifying existing items still requires direct database edits (boo). I'll get around to finishing that part as well as soon as I can figure out Drupal's really, really odd method of form handling with tabular data.

Also, I used this opportunity to make a couple changes to the wishlist. I'm now including the Date Added, so you can tell how old (or new) a particular item is. Anything already on the list from before the migration will just have a blank value here. I've also begun adding links to Best Buy, since it's sometimes easier to purchase items in a physical store than order them online. And finally, each column is now sortable, so you can sort by things like cheapest or most recently added. Just click on the title of whichever column you'd like sorted.

So anyway, for those of you that may interested in purchasing something for me, my Wishlist page is now current. Enjoy.

Edit: I added a "Last Updated" field as well, in the upper-right corner of the page. Use this to determine at a glance how long it's been since I last updated the wishlist.

Request: Slovak Translation Update for UniExtract 1.6

Submitted by jbreland on Sun, 09/30/2007 - 23:20

I'm trying to get in touch with Peter Ž., aka zilabo. If you're reading this, please contact me regarding your Slovak translation. I tried e-mailing you a couple of times, but it appears that the e-mail address I have for you is no longer valid.

Also, if anyone else is able (and willing) to provide a Slovak translation, feel free to contact me as well. If I don't hear back from zilabo, I'll have to drop the translation going forward unless someone else is willing to maintain it.

Thanks.

Updated 10/25/2007:
Nevermind! I got a couple offers, and I truly appreciate them, but the original author recently got back in touch with me. His translation will be included in v1.6.

Thanks anyway!

Sexism on the Internet?

Submitted by jbreland on Fri, 09/28/2007 - 09:52

While the title sounds like this should be some deep, thought-provoking post, it's actually just a link to a comic. Sorry to disappoint. However, the comic is pretty much right-on. I've seen a lot of this myself, and just recently read an article about this kind of behavior even at mainstream IT conferences. Definitely a sad trend.

With all that said, the comic is also pretty darn funny. :-) Check it out - Pix Plz

Note: This is from a webcomic that I recently began reading called XKCD. It's pretty funny, though very geek-oriented. If you enjoy the Pix Plz comic, you may want to check out some of the previous strips as well.

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at How DRM Becomes Law

Submitted by jbreland on Fri, 07/13/2007 - 09:42

This is just a quick post about an article I recently read. Cory Doctorow (of Boing Boing, among others) has written a pretty insightful article for Information Week on "...the back room dealing that allowed entertainment companies and electronics companies to craft public policy on digital rights management." It manages to be insightful, disturbing, and disgusting all at the same time, and is worth a read if you're interested in how DRM comes to be.

Here's a small excerpt from the article:

Then the MPAA dropped the other shoe: the sole criterion for inclusion on the list would be the approval of one of its member-companies, or a quorum of broadcasters. In other words, the Broadcast Flag wouldn't be an "objective standard," describing the technical means by which video would be locked away -- it would be purely subjective, up to the whim of the studios. You could have the best product in the world, and they wouldn't approve it if your business-development guys hadn't bought enough drinks for their business-development guys at a CES party.

You can read the full article here:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201000854

or, you can find the much friendlier single-page version here:
http://informationweek.com/shared/printableArticle.jhtml?articleID=201000854

Have an Upcoming Test? Forgot to Study? Here's Some Inspiration.

Submitted by jbreland on Wed, 03/28/2007 - 15:34

Someone with too much free time on his hands (not that that's a bad thing) collected a number of scanned test/quiz documents with some rather creative answers. This should make for a rather humorous end to your day (as well as feeling better about your own test grades from school).

Remember, there is an elephant in the way.

AutoFLAC Support Question

Submitted by jbreland on Mon, 03/05/2007 - 14:02

Somebody named Charles sent me a private message a few days ago asking for help with an issue he's having with AutoFLAC. Charles, if you read this, please either send me an e-mail or port your question to the Hydrogenaudio AutoFLAC thread instead and I'll get back to you. Due to a couple technical reasons I'd rather not discuss here, I have no way to contact you based on your private message.

Merry Christmas

Submitted by jbreland on Mon, 12/25/2006 - 01:43

I don't have much news to post as I'm out of town for the holidays, but I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and merry Christmas (especially those of you that are traveling). Enjoy the holidays!