Blog.Andrei.MD

NearlyFreeSpeech.net DDOS effect

I’m using NearlyFreeSpeech.net (NFS) for some web and DNS hosting. It’s pretty cheap and has plenty of controls - just right for the technical person like me.

However, the recent DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack has shown me that their network is not resilient at all. Particularly, I’m concerned with DNS service. Commercial DNS offerings are meant to use geographically distributed servers NOT all on one network.

Couple of weeks ago, there was a network hardware failure at CrazyDomains.com.au. All of their web sites were down, but the DNS kept going. This is the way it’s supposed to be done.

Now, I’ll probably move all the domains to Zerigo.com and take advantage of their API and domain templates. I was thinking of using the DNS service offered by Linode.com when you sign up to one of their VMs. However, I feel I should go with a dedicated DNS hosting provider this time, not some free or cheapish add-on to hosting.

To conclude, I would like to say that there really aren’t many good DNS hosting services available.

How “View Full Screen” Functionality Should Work with Multiple Monitors

There’s no agreement what it means for an app to go “Full Screen” on a mac. I didn’t test on Windows beyond “F11” in IE and Firefox.

The current state of “Full Screen” support is poor for those who have more than one monitor. Obviously, this is not a problem if you only have one monitor as “Full Screen” means “Take over my monitor completely”.

Okay. What are the different versions of “Full Screen” behaviour?

All Screens (monopolistic)

Enter full screen in one app, and you lose control of the other screen. These split into two types, those that try to do something to the other screen (like turning it black), and those that don’t. In either case, you can’t interact with your other screen, even if you can see what’s going on there.

Of these, there are smart and dumb apps. Smart apps assume that if the app is on screen A, then it should be maximized on screen A. Dumb apps get maximized onto main screen even if the app is open on screen B. Sometimes this dumbness is programmed in because the developers are trying to be too smart. This was present in MPlayer OSX where you had to choose which monitor is your primary - clear example of over-geekery without making the right assumptions.

Examples: QuickTime, Flash Browser plugin (in any browser), MPlayer.

When QuickTime opens a movie in full screen, you see what’s happening in the other screen, but as soon as you click there, the movie shrinks to normal size.

One Screen (realistic)

Those applications that only take over the screen they are on. To me, this is the desired behaviour in most cases.

Examples: Skype, Firefox, Chrome, Miro

In Skype, you can open a video call full screen and keep clicking and typing in the other screen. In Chrome, you can open one window in Full-Screen on each monitor and there’s no problem.

No Full Screen

Apple believes in giving full-screen abilities to iTunes because it makes for some good eye candy. To get full screen in Safari you need to install plugins. I wonder why Firefox and Chrome feel the need for this functionality and Safari doesn’t. Maybe it’s too much work. Perhaps it’s to protect the average Joe from entering the “Full Screen” mode and not being able to escape.

Only Full Screen

Dashboard and Front Row are the only kids in this territory. When operation is only in full screen an app should be treated as a different operating system. Apple is clearly making these assumptions with both Front Row and the Dashboard - they have their own completely different UI.

How it all should work?

Be realistic. Take over the current screen.

Apps that monopolize all screens make an assumption about what the user wants to do. In my opinion, these apps should first make an assumption about what kind of user might have more than one screen. Most likely it’s a power user because your average Joe does not have two screens and doesn’t multitask when watching a YouTube video.

Sometimes it’s good to take over all screens. Often times, it’s not. Browser plugins like Flash player shouldn’t take over all screens. Apps should have a setting in preferences to turn monopolisation on or off (default OFF).

For bonus points, Adobe Flash player should only take over the entire browser window, not the full screen. If true full-screen is desired, they should do a double maximisation: first maximise the browser window, then maximise the flash player. This way if a browser like Safari doesn’t support full screen, Flash can’t either. Given Apple’s love for

Full screen mode should be a system feature. It could be treated as a special type of overlay, like Dashboard.

Why am I thinking about it?

I see web browsers as a powerful platform, not just a means for browsing the web to read the news. I see it as a canvas where I can create new client applications using standards-based technologies like HTML, CSS and JavaScript. If there’s a full screen ability, then I can maximize one or two screens required and fill them with application data, thus hiding the underlying Operating System. Because Safari doesn’t provide “Full Screen” I can’t consider it as proper canvas for these types of work.

Also, when I’m working, every now and again I want to open a YouTube video full screen on my second monitor and watch an inspiring TED talk while coding that jQuery goodness.

So, if you’re building an app, give “Full Screen” a little thought.

Shopify: Things to consider before you sign up

Shopify charges commission on sales plus the monthly fee. The more you sell, the more you pay. You might think that 1% is not that much money (on top of 2.5-3.5% you will be charged for credit card transaction processing).

Orders cannot be cancelled

Occasionally you will have a bad sale where you’ll need to cancel the order and issue a refund. Surprise!!! You can’t cancel orders from shopify, thus you’d be paying them 1% on the money you didn’t make. PayPal, for example, gives you a refund of the fees you paid for receiving money. So would your bank (most likely).

Another downer of the same kind happens when you use a “cash on pickup” or “cheque” option. Because Shopify doesn’t track your money, they assume you’ve received it, so you’ll be paying interest, even if the buyer reconsiders and never turns up.

Orders cannot be changed

If your customers provide the wrong address when ordering and call you to correct it, you’ll be out of luck with Shopify. You can’t change the order, so you can’t do the printing directly, you’ll need to copy-paste it into Word or elsewhere and change everything manually. This forces your data to be fragmented and inaccurate and requires that you manage orders elsewhere.

Coupled with Shopify’s weak inventory control and the checkout you can’t customise, these are some good reasons to think again before investing your time in building a store with Shopify.

We are now considering what application/platform we’ll use to migrate PaintAccess.com.au off Shopify. BigCommerce is on the table.

Remembrance Weekend to replace ANZAC day and Easter

AU government has downgraded ANZAC day from holiday to ‘day of remembrance’ and thus you don’t get a day off work. I think ANZAC day is more real than Easter because it commemorates the participation in REAL events whereas Easter is a celebration of IMAGINARY or hightly distorted events. So my solution: scrape both Easter and ANZAC off the Australian public calendar. Setup a new holiday: Remembrance Weekend. Make this the third weekend in April and make it a super-long weekend: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Move former ANZAC parade to the Saturday. Thus there’s more significance placed on the lives (sometimes lost) of those who choose to defend this country and the peace in the world. Easter crowd will have to deal with the loss of the official holiday just like Muslims or Jews deal with lack of official recognition of their holidays - suck it in and do their religious deeds ON THEIR OWN TIME. The public at large doesn’t lose the holidays, they’re just shifted to a different and quite predictable period. Instead of having to rely on the Church and the Moon, any child would know when the long weekend is by just looking at the calendar.

To those needing another justification angle, get this: Both holidays celebrate heroes who’ve fallen for a better world, so it’s only right to put it all together. If we do this right, we might end up with a worldwide holiday whose purpose is just to remember other people, both dead and alive.

Of course, this will result in some christian uproar, but that will only add more worldwide PR to the fact that holidays have shifted and Australia is one step closer to the secular world.

Christmas doesn’t need fixing just yet, we should leave some fun for later generations.

PS: Photo Credit ANZAC Bridge ||| by damian78 on Flickr

Advice to Australian Government regarding Jobs and Taxes

The papers say that government is encouraging employers to cut hours instead of cutting jobs. This way everyone gets paid a bit less (and works a bit less) but still gets paid and works. Those who are not happy will leave, which is very unlikely in this climate.

Future Tax cuts are also in the papers. I’m all for tax cuts even if there is no economic downturn. They make the government leaner and more efficient. Surpluses make it bloated and the money is nowere to be seen anyway. You’ve got to pay for the roads, busses… anyway, the talk is not about that.

If the government is serious about keeping the jobs and cutting the taxes, they should couple the two in an attractive incentive package. Those employers who keep the jobs, get a tax cut. Those who fire - don’t. I guess to be fair to the workers, this has to be the corporate tax. So if your company hasn’t made anyone redundant, it gets a 5% tax discount. This way no personal tax cuts may be necessary (although still quite desired by everyone).