AnthonyKinson.co.uk

With 2009 over, its time to focus on the plans for this year, in regards to my work, there’s a lot of stuff to come. Firstly, the massive IP.Mail application, which so far is proving to work amazingly well and has had a lot of support. I’m hoping to have the first public Beta version of IP.Mail released by the end of January.

Bouncy Radio Center will also see a new version coming out, and more importantly, a new module which will allow for people with dedicated servers to run and manage their own SHOUTcast server right from within the radio center itself.

Bouncy XBox LIVE will also have some cool updates, this time for the Forum Achievements which people have been awaiting for a while.

For BouncyServers, we shall be soon doing an updated on our licensing software in order to have everything managed from 1 client area instead of the 2 client areas we currently have (for hosting services and licensing) this should make everything much easier for everybody.

More updates will be coming soon, so check back!

Anthony

Its been a while since i have posted on my blog, I’ve been crazy busy with lots of updates and new Apps. First of all lets talk about updates to current Apps.

Bouncy Radio Center v9.1
This was a pretty big update on my part, mainly with new module the Radio On-Demand feature which is now a part of the radio center and comes free at no extra cost to new and existing license holders. radio On-Demand provides a secure way to provide music to your members without compromising the security or privacy of the MP3. in a nutshell, it prevents people downloading the files, and only allows for them to listen to the file “On-Demand”. This is a fantastic way to promote songs you have for sale, as such, i added some features to add buy now links and price fields to each On-Demand file.

As well as this cool new feature some bugs and improvements have been made to the system, for example the RAJAX module has been re-written using an output function in order to feed live data to other hooks and modules. As a result, this prevents those annoying errors people were having in Internet Explorer and other problems where the browser would cache the RAJAX data causing old entries to be shown. This is now a thing of the past.

Bouncy Radio Center 9.1 Change log
FIXED: Listeners chart error after a new installation
FIXED: Scheduling a show with an end time at midnight returns a
BRC302 error that the show cannot end before it has started
FIXED: Problem with the flash charts when a custom admin directory
name is used
FIXED: Problem with the LiveStream Player when a custom Admin
Directory is used
FIXED: Flash Charts do not work when .htaccess is used within
admin directory
FIXED: Livestream player fails to initialize when a .htaccess
file is used within the admin directory
ADDED: Support for Radio Request Hook
ADDED: Support for Bouncy License Control Center Application
FIXED: RAJAX Support for Internet Explorer. data Now updates correctly.
ADDED: New RAJAX Methods and data construction using
$this->buildOutput() functions.
ADDED: Radio On-Demand feature

Bouncy XBox LIVE v2.1
Updates to Bouncy XBox live were mainly just compatibility and fixes for IP.Boards new version of their forum software. A list of changes is below.

Bouncy XBox LIVE 2.1 Change log
FIXED: Public Module Ordering
FIXED: JS Errors in Internet Explorer
FIXED: Theme Errors
ADDED: Support for Bouncy License Control Center Application (REQUIRED)
ADDED: IPB 3.0.4 support
ADDED: Halo 3 theme

Bouncy License Control Center
This is a new app which is required to be installed for the above licensed apps to work correctly. This adds better management of your app licenses as well as finally being able to reset your own local keys, a feature i initially overlooked during the development of these apps. This app will also provide you with latest information directly from us, a list of available apps with links to product pages, purchase pages and latest version information. You will also find some options which load up OUR license control panel right inside your Admin CP!

Check out the image below for some screenshots of the latest apps.

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Design is something i enjoy doing, and the excitement and overwhelming pride that takes over me when i complete eye catching, good looking designs comes second only to when i pull off an app that i thought i couldn’t achieve.

With this in mind, i have decide to embark on the skinning journey for IPB 3.0, skin choices at the moment are very limited as its still early days for Invisions fantastic new software, and with that in mind i am working on 7 skins with different theme’s all based around the 7 deadly sins.

The 7 sins idea came to me a while ago but i never put it into effect, reason being IPB 2.3 was going to be replaced, and the determination to put so much effort into creating skins that were going to be no use in a couple of months seemed like a waste, so i waited.

Starting off the themes is the 7 Sins (Pride) skin. When looking at it you may wonder what does this skin have in relation to pride. Well, the skin is based on BouncyBootlegs and BouncyServers design, something 2 sites in which i am very proud of, so this skin is more related to my own personal pride. both sites have come along way in the last 5 years, especially BouncyServers, with a bigger client database than ever and more and more people seeing the benefits of hosting with bouncyservers i think it is definatly something i should be proud of.

As usual you can see the development in progress of these skins, at time of this writing the default skin on the dev forum is the pride skin, which i am still finishing off, but you ca register and comment on the skin and leave any comments in the shoutbox, or here on my blog!

The default skin will be replaced with the next skin i work on when it starts so you can visit at any time and be sure to see the current skin that’s being worked on.

http://dev.bouncyservers.co.uk is the link you will need, or you can check out the screenshot below

So i have had OS 3.0 on my phone for a few days and was unable to setup internet tethering because o2 did not offer the service until today. However, yesterday there tethering information page came online along with their prices for the service.

So first of all let me explain to you what Internet Tethering is. It basically allows you to connect your mobile phone to you PC or Laptop via USB or Bluetooth  and then allows you to use your iPhone as a modem, providing internet to the device its connected too. Pretty much like a mobile broadband dongle does.

Now, anyone with an iPhone from o2 will be aware that all contracts come with unlimited data over 3G and from WIFI Hotspots, so there is no need to purchase additional internet to use your phone tethered right? wrong!

This is another services in which is provided solely for the provider to make money.

The image to the left shows the prices o2 are charging to use the internet tethering feature on you iPhone. Now the problem with this is that it actually costs o2 or apple NOTHING for us to use Internet Tethering yet they are charging us for more data to use with tethering, when we already have unlimited data plans!

Now, i also have the fortune of owning a Nokia N95 and over the last year, when i have needed an internet connection on my laptop, i have put my Sim card in my Nokia N95, USB connected it to my laptop and launched Nokia PC Suite.

Now Nokia PC Suite comes with a program called “One Touch Access” as seen in the below image. This allows your laptop or PC to connect to the internet using your Nokia N95 as a modem and using your phones 3G or in my case 3.5G connection as the sources.

Now last year i phoned o2 and asked them if my laptop using my iPhones 3G data would cost me anything, to which they replied “No, you have unlimited data plan, you will not be charged for using data”

So, Nokia have provided this feature for years, and now Apple have finally jumped on the bandwagon giving it a new name of “Internet Tethering” and forcing operators to charge for the service… yes, FORCING.

Yesterday i phoned o2 with a few questions, first was why my iPhone would send MMS but not receive them, answer being i have os3.0 early and o2 have not provisioned the MMS receiving yet. when i questioned them about tethering, they said its something they have to charge for as its in their agreement with Apple. So the prices as shown above or just ridiculous, i have unlimited data, yet i have to purchase extra data just to use for tethering, when the data is provided the exact same way! Over 3G, so why should i have to pay extra for it.

Now, like me, many other o2 iPhone customers already spend a minimum of £45 a month on their contract with o2. with the smallest tethering package, that price will jump up to £60 a month and only allowing you 3GIG of internet for tethering!

The iPhone is a great device, but they are starting to annoy me big time with the charging for services which have been free on other devices for years! I really don’t understand how they can justify it or how they can charge you such a high price to use a feature that is absolutely free on other devices.

Slowly backing away from the iPhone, and i can see myself Jail Breaking it now just so i can use the device i paid for how i want to use it, not how Apple force me to use it!

The Bouncy Radio Center admin modules are now complete! and with it some cool new features.

First of all it now has its own error reporting functions meaning if there is a problem with your radio connection it will tell you what the problem is, and suggest how to resolve the problem (see above screenshot).

Now, there are 2 modules, an Overview Module and a Managment Module. Overview is the default and gives you a quick look at various things about your radio such as Scheduled Shows Today, Scheduled Shows This Week, number of resident DJ’s and number of Guest DJ’s. It now also has an upgrade history showing you what versions you installed and when.

Managing DJ’s is now much more simple. You no longer have to search for a member and edit their profile. You can now see all DJ’s from one page, Add new guest or resident dj’s, change a dj’s type or delete a dj (see below image)

Bouncy Radio Center 9 should now be ready for release very soon! Not much further to go boys and girls!

Stay Tuned!

Its that time again boys and girls, the time in which poor Anthony here is over run with work and things to do. Amongst the chaos of all the software upgrades and app building, I have now got a server to build, and me being me, the perfectionist that i am, its sure to be a problem free transfer (fingers crossed).

So, basically when we move to new servers its a really simple process, but can be very time consuming. The whole process is just like transferring all your files from one PC to another. First of all we have to build the server, then we have to get everything installed, things like apache, PHP, MySQL, cPanel and then after that, we have to get all the security put in place.

Once all this has been done, we then start the transfer, generally this is an automated process done between the 2 servers. The new server connects to the old server, and then it sucks everything off the old servers hard drive and places it on the new server. The fun doesn’t stop there though.

Once everything is moved across we have to validate that every single file has been transferred successfully, now, I’m sure your aware how many files are stored on your home PC, well, its a lot, and the amount of files on the server can be double that at times. If your a customer and you want to help speed up the process, you could delete any unnecessary files from you hosting account which would help increase transfer times, but you don’t really have to do this.

During this time we will also be investigating suspended accounts and terminating them as necessary, reducing the amount of data we have to transfer, so if your hosting account has been suspended for the last 5 days, your have 3 days to have it resolved.

If your a BouncyServers customer there will be a lot of information in an email the support department sent out regarding the transfers, but if you have any questions about the move, you may ask here and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.

Stick around for more updates as i progress, it can take up to 24 hours for the server to be built so i guess we all have 24 hours at least before any transfer takes place.

Just a quick message really. There is going to be a major overhaul on the livestream player, Basically it is going to be put into its own module / class and there’s now 28 selectable themes for it, including the themes you are already familiar with.

This should allow for better calls to the livestream player in hooks and modules that people may create. Thinking ahead

Anyway, i will post another article soon with a sneaky peak at the skins that will be available.

Right then, well I’ve been a busy bunny since my last article with updating the listener info detection for media players, and, well, there’s now 7 which are recognised successfully (see below image).

• Winamp
• iTunes
• VLC Media Player
• Real Player
• Bouncy Radio Center LIVE Stream
• SHOUTcast App for iPhone / iPod Touch
• Windows Media Player

If you know of any other popular media players that are used to tune into your radio just let me know the name of the media player, and the user agent information, and I’ll add it to the standard list.

Also to answer questions i often get asked about VLC player. The reason its not added as an option to tune in with is because VLC uses all sorts of file types and supports lots of methods, as such, you can use VLC to tune in using the winamp link or the iTunes link, and so on. Any entry for VLC would be nothing more than a duplicate of another link so not really needed, but it IS supported.

If you want to send me a recommendation for a media player just comment on this article and I’ll respond. If you have Bouncy Radio Center v8 installed you can tune into your radio with the media player you want to submit and grab the User Agent data from the listener info there.

Information is something you can never have to much of (except in Beth’s case where she likes to describe in detail her trip to the toilet). Well the new Radio Center 9 is no different and at this point, I’d like to introduce you to the new listener info pop up box.

As you can see it has a few new additions since its v8 counterpart such as player icons and under runs. So, first of all the player icons, nothing more than a visual representation of the player that listener is using. In v8 you would have to look at the User Agent box and determine from that. Well with a lot of patients and some regular expressions you can now see a cool little icons for each listener. If however the player is not recognised, an unknown icon will be displayed and you can check out the user agent field for more information.

Now onto under runs. A lot of radio owners are often faced with members of their forums or radio listeners saying that the radio keeps stuttering or buffering, and as a radio owner its hard to determine whether just this 1 listener is having the problem, or if all listeners are having a problem. On a DJ point of view this usual results in the do having to disconnect and reconnect, just to be safe. well no there is no need. You can check to see if all listeners are experiencing under runs or buffering.

For example, listener ID 482 in the above image, lets imagine he has 12 under runs, and the other listeners have 0. We can safely assume that the problem is with that listeners internet connection and act accordingly, asking the listeners to ensure they are not using all their bandwidth downloading or if there using a 3G connection as they are tuned in with an iPhone/iPod Touch, so from these 2 new bits of information (player and under runs) we can assume maybe this listeners signal has dropped or there speed has reduced causing under runs / buffering.

If all listeners are having under run problems then you can assume that the DJ is having bandwidth problems with his upload speed and ask him to reduce the bit rate accordingly, alternatively, if your radio is not hosted with BouncyServers (probably the best host in the world) it could very well be a server lag problem.

As you can see, these new features don’t give you a definitive answer, but they help MUCH more in determining the cause of any lag issues.

And this boys and girls, is just one more reason why the Bouncy Radio Center is the best all round SHOUTcast management solution around.

Let me know what you think, and stick around for more updates very soon!

Everybody works in one way or another, we all have jobs to do, and for the last few days, I’ve been dreading getting out of bed for a few reasons. First of all, because I’ve not been eating properly or getting much sleep at all over the last few weeks which is leaving me a bit short in the old energy department, and secondly, because i know I’m going to have to stare at a screen full of code for hours, and that being the reason for the first.. erm.. reason..

Seriously though, I have just spent around 8 hours finishing off the new Radio Center Sidebar Hook, and why, because it’s a long process meeting standards.

Hooks for example come bundled in 1 xml file, this file has to contain language strings, template bits, settings, PHP code, help files, database queries and so on.

Now the radio sidebar hook only contains 1 template bit, 12 settings, 24 language strings, 1 PHP file and 1 help file and its taken me all this time to complete it.

Saying that, the sidebar module uses the RAJAX module and has some JavaScript coding in it also, so I’ve had to add some stuff to the RAJAX module to auto update certain elements of the sidebar. Still, most people will look at the sidebar and think nothing of it, its small, it doesn’t look too complicated, and in reality, its taken hours and hours to complete.

The fun doesn’t end there though, oh no. I’ve still got loads of other bits to complete, the main board panel hook for starters, its almost done, i just cant decide if i like the look of it or not, mainly because of the padding with the default IPB table class, however i did write a class called “RadPad” specifically for the radio, but i haven’t decided if i want to use it or not yet.

Then there’s the global radio bar hook, which i haven’t even started yet.. HA! fun times!

As far as the actual radio center goes lets see, the History page is completed, done, dusted, the schedule page is done on the public side, but I’m not happy with the way scheduled entries are laid out, so that’s probably going to have an overhaul. DJ List, not started, Downloads, not started, Linking, Not done but that’s an easy one, Stats, done, but not finished.

Mentioning the stats, i forgot to post on my blog about them, so i will write an article shortly about the new stats features.

Despite all the work i have done so far, completion still seems a long way away. I’ve literally been getting up, working on the radio center, going to bed, getting up, working on the radio center, going to bed.

Time off today i think, but saying that, I’m to anxious to get it finished i end up going back to it, telling myself I’ll just do a little edit here an there and before i know it am full on writing modules and crap.

Anyways, enough ranting from me, I’m gonna go eat.