My first foray into Android app creation has come to fruition. NZBdroid is live in the Android Marketplace, both for $2.00 $0.99 and also COMPLETELY free. It’s up to the user whether they want to buy it or not, which seems to me to be a pretty cool way to do things.
What NZBdroid does is allow the user to click on .nzb files in the Android browser (or in any app, really) and have that .nzb file sent off to your ‘net-connected instance of SABnzbd+, where it will be downloaded and ready for you to access it when you get home.
Anyway here’s a little demo of the NZBdroid in action, clicking a link on tvnzb.com (but keep in mind, the Android emulator runs really slowly on my computer):
Part of my webhosting woes of late is that, like Wordpress, my blog software (Serendipity) is horribly dependent upon massive amounts of database interaction. A few hits and suddenly your server starts leaking smoke and your webhosting provider shuts you down. This is obviously not optimal, and a big part of the reason I made the switch to Dreamhost’s Virtual Private Server platform in the first place. Dreamhost’s VPS came with its own host of problems, but needless to say, database server overloading was still somewhat of a problem there. (Actually, I maintain that it is MORE of a problem, but that’s something you’ll have to take up with your helpful Dreamhost Support staff — you know, if they ever get back to you.)
Because this is such a problem on Wordpress there are quite a number of different plugins to alleviate this, all of which have pros and cons, meaning that it takes some research to determine how best to go about caching your content. Being a lesser-used platform than Wordpress, Serendipity doesn’t have quite the number of solutions to help cache the content and relieve the database server from some of its tireless work, so I set about trying to come up with a solution.
While reading up on some of these plugin-based solutions on Wordpress’s platform, trying to see if there was some technique I could move over to Serendipity, I stumbled across an ingenious idea:
Squid is designed to sit between your browser and the rest of the internet, efficiently caching content so that your browser doesn’t have to re-download it all the time, effectively “speeding up” your internet connection. This is especially helpful in a network situation where you have a number of people using the same internet connection. When Bob loads up the day’s LOLcats, squid will cache them locally so that Steve’s computer doesn’t have to download them yet again. Pretty common setup, and very effective at what it does.
Anyway, someone far cleverer than I realized that one could use squid the other way ‘round: by running it on your web host, intercepting every incoming request seeking content from your site. Squid will happily pass requests through to the web server, where content will be fetched from your database. But if squid knows it has a recent copy in memory, it will send that back to the browser instead, never letting it touch your webserver — and thus any databases — saving yourself some pretty significant amount of RAM and CPU.
I’m here to report that it works like a charm. Granted, there are quirks — like comments not immediately displaying — but that’s a trade-off I’m more than willing to make.
If you’d like more information, here are the instructions I followed to get this setup running on my new host: Reverse Proxying with Squid.
Having finally had it up to here with Dreamhost, we’ve undertaken the process of finding a new host that will meet my needs. Those needs being:
prompt support replies
not costing an arm and a leg
not being a total pain in the ass to deal with
Having been with Dreamhost for a number of years, and now having tried out a series of other hosting providers, I can honestly say that save for my first bullet point, Dreamhost far exceeds every other hosting provider I’ve seen. They really “get it” over there.
If’n your hosting needs are limited to flat HTML without any reliance on databases (and you don’t mind the occasional incommunicado outage) I very much recommend them.
If, however, your needs are a bit more technical, I heartily recommend GIVING UP ON YOURNEEDS, because I went through four different incompetent hosting providers looking for one that can handle my crazy hodgepodge of web-fu.
Flat HTML was awesome in 1994, and it STILL IS. Your blood pressure will thank you.
I don’t have much to say lately, but I need to say this:
Google’s Android mobile phone platform is freakin’ AMAZING. T-Mobile’s “G1” handset — which is the first of the commercially available Android phones — is very nearly as awesome a device as is the underlying platform.
Imagine the offspring resultant from a drunken one-night-stand between a Sidekick/Hiptop and an iPhone. That pretty much describes the G1; it is fully touch-enabled and has a wealth of downloadable applications ala iPhone, but boasts the flip-out keyboard and actual navigation buttons which are the hallmark of a Sidekick for those times you don’t feel like looking like a total tool rubbing your fingers all over your phone.
Best yet, you don’t need to deal with any of the iTunes bullcrap that every iPhone owner has to admit to disliking dealing with. If you want to put mp3s (or oggs, w00t!) on it, you simply plug a NORMALUSBCABLE into it and it shows up as a removable drive. Copy your music over and you’re good to go. Same with photos and videos. Software updates come automatically over the air, so no dealing with the endless cycle of backing up and restoring when iTunes makes a mess of things. (Or, if you’re a nerd like me, you can manually download the firmware update and apply it yourself.)
Unlike with iPhone, users can install applications that modify very nearly any aspect of the device, and are not at the whims of Apple as to whether the app will be “allowed” or not. For instance: I have an app installed that can turn on and off features when certain criteria are met. When the GPS finds that I’ve arrived at home, it automatically enables wifi. When I leave it turns it off again to preserve battery. If my battery drops below a certain point I’ve got it set to turn off GPS as well to further save battery. Try doing that with iPhone :).
Want to set an mp3, m4a or ogg file as a ringtone? No problem, support for that is built in.
All-in-all, Android has far exceeded my expectations, and is quite the anti-iPhone platform that I’d envisioned. I highly recommend it.
On Tuesday, July the 22nd, the fantastic British sitcom, SPACED, (from the minds of the people who brought you Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) gets its long-awaited US DVD release.
If you haven’t already imported a copy from the UK, I highly, HIGHLY recommend you pick up a copy of the US release. Highly.
I’ve not met a geek who doesn’t like this show, so get in on the ground floor while you still have the chance to be the one telling people about it.
My first foray into Android app creation has come to fruition. NZBdroid is live in the Android Marketplace, both for 
On Tuesday, July the 22nd, the fantastic British sitcom, 
