Jorge Bernal

Spotify is the new Napster

Jorge Bernal — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:14:48 +0000

I was searching for a solution to a small Spotify bug and found this user praise: Spotify is what napster was for ten years ago.

Then another user replied:

how do you mean?

ten years ago Napster was an illegal channel for sharing and downloading music, built p2p.

are you ironic and i missed the punchline?

Fair enough. But still this guy had a point. Spotify is not the same thing as Napster, but another milestone in the Music Industry transformation.

Napster started a revolution. I’m not talking about piracy, I’m talking about spreading the message that the current formats were obsolete and people had different musical needs. The success of the iTunes Store is a good proof of that.

Spotify, as I see it, is the beginning of the end of that revolution. Say goodbye to useless CDs and DVDs. Goodbye to paying for an album with a couple of good songs and crap for filling.

The next logical step would be a Spotify for video.

The only thing I’ve seen coming from the (music and movie) industry in the last 10 years has been the message that piracy was illegal, and immoral, and that it would kill the music and movies. Maybe they have a point, maybe not.

Recently, they’ve been trying to ban download sites in Spain. What then? Without P2P:

I can only get movies on theaters (when/where they want) or DVD (how they want). Theaters are expensive (especially if you account for most of the movies not being worth the price) and I just don’t see myself going to a store or having to wait for a DVD to arrive to watch a movie
If you want movies in VO, there are little options. Thankfully we have now one cinema playing VO movies in our town, but still not enough
If you want TV Shows on VO you have to wait until the DVD comes out. Most of the successful shows are on TV, but delayed for weeks (or even months) and in Spanish

I found a quote yesterday that summed it up pretty well:

“People don’t go out of their way to pirate movies and TV programs; they’re not intrinsically bad people. They do it because often it’s quicker and easier than legitimate means. The quicker the film and TV industries recognise this and make it as easy to buy legal content as it is to download illegitimate content, the more likely they are to stem the flow.”

But I believe if they shut up for a minute and listen, they’d realize there’s people willing to pay, but they are not selling to them.

Fair price

My 2009 in pictures

Jorge Bernal — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:01:55 +0000

Looking back at 2009, it seems I haven’t been taking so many pictures as I did in 2008, but I see more variety. Here are some of those, some I feel proud of, some bring some good memories and some just make me smile

How we track outbound links with Google Analytics Events API

Jorge Bernal — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:12:30 +0000

Since the redesign of eBox platform, our bounce rate increased dramatically. After a short investigation, it made sense: our new website was just the homepage and news, and the rest of the content was on different domains (trac, eBox Technologies, …).

So our bounces were either real bounces, or people visiting our other sites (which I wouldn’t count as bounces).

My solution: track outgoing links.

I searched for a solution and found this article, but it wasn’t exactly what I wanted.

It’s a good first approach, but tracking external links as pageviews makes the analytics reports more confusing. Events Tracking API to the rescue! This API was conceived to track actions that don’t match a page view, like video plays and other application interactions.

So, with events we could track our exits separately, get the information we need, and get a more accurate Bounce rate.

The extra code:

The original article used rel="external" to mark the links to track. There is an easiest way: searching for absolute URLS in the href attribute. Also, I’m using the action parameter to differentiate between internal (our other websites) and external (facebook, twitter,…) links.

What we are tracking, and will be able to see on the Analytics reports is:

Category: Exits. Could have been called ‘outbound links’, or any other variation
Action: external or internal
Label: the destination URL
Value: not using it. This could be useful for other kind of events, like tracking video load times

Warning: your bounce rate will probably drop by tracking events. For us, it reflects our visits more accurately, but that might not be your case.

This is what google has to say on bounce rate impact:

In general, a “bounce” is described as a single-page visit to your site. In Analytics, a bounce is calculated specifically as a session that triggers only a single GIF request, such as when a user comes to a single page on your website and then exits without causing any other request to the Analytics server for that session. However, if you implement Event Tracking for your site, you might notice a change in bounce rate metrics for those pages where Event Tracking is present. This is because Event Tracking, like page tracking is classified as an interaction request.

For example, suppose you have a page with a video player where the bounce rate is historically high, and you have not implemented Event Tracking for the page. If you subsequently set up Event Tracking for the player, you might notice a decrease in the bounce rate for that page, because Analytics will record user interaction with the player and send that interaction to the server as an additional GIF request. Thus, even though the same percentage of visitors to the page might still exit without viewing any other page on your site, their interaction with the video player triggers Event Tracking calls, which disqualifies their visit as a bounce.

In this way, “bounces” for your event-enabled pages means something slightly different: a single-page visit that includes no user interaction on tracked events.

Redesigning eBox homepage

Jorge Bernal — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:57:58 +0000

Redesign eBox Platform homepage
View more documents from Jorge Bernal.

It’s been 3 weeks since we launched the new eBox Platform homepage, and I wanted to share the different steps through the redesign.

Do you like the new design?

Do you like any of the previous steps better?

Do you have any suggestions?

Fixing Snow Leopard ruby readline

Jorge Bernal — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:36:51 +0000

Since I upgraded to Snow Leopard I’ve been missing readline whe using irb. As I discovered in this article, this is due to apple’s ruby linking to libedit instead of libreadline. I didn’t have that problem before the upgrade since I had compiled ruby myself.

This time, I was looking for another solution. I could have compiled ruby with readline support, but then probably I’d had to reinstall some gems too. So I present you the quick way to fix your readline

Step 0: Setup temp dir

mkdir -p /tmp/rlruby cd /tmp/rlruby sudo -s

Step 1: Install readline

curl -O ftp://ftp.cwru.edu/pub/bash/readline-6.0.tar.gz tar xvf readline-6.0.tar.gz cd readline-6.0 ./configure && make && make install cd ..

Step 2: Get ruby source

To keep the complications to a minimum, I downloaded ruby from apple (check 10.6.2 open source, or other releases). The current patchlevel is ruby-75 so fetch that one:

curl -O http://www.opensource.apple.com/tarballs/ruby/ruby-75.tar.gz tar xvf ruby-75.tar.gz cd ruby-75

Step 4: Build readline extension

We don’t need to build all ruby, just the readline extension

cd ruby/ext/readline/ ruby extconf.rb make

At this point, you’ll probably get the following error:

readline.c: In function ‘username_completion_proc_call’: readline.c:730: error: ‘username_completion_function’ undeclared (first use in this function) readline.c:730: error: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once readline.c:730: error: for each function it appears in.) readline.c: In function ‘username_completion_proc_call’: readline.c:730: error: ‘username_completion_function’ undeclared (first use in this function) readline.c:730: error: (Each undeclared identifier is reported only once readline.c:730: error: for each function it appears in.) lipo: can't open input file: /var/folders/s4/s4qO7oueE3ijABAH7qB6Dk+++TI/-Tmp-//ccW5lOLL.out (No such file or directory) make: *** [readline.o] Error 1

We need to tell gcc that our readline is in /usr/local

make readline.o CFLAGS='-I/usr/local/include -DHAVE_RL_USERNAME_COMPLETION_FUNCTION' cc -arch i386 -arch x86_64 -pipe -bundle -undefined dynamic_lookup -o readline.bundle readline.o -L/usr/local/lib -L/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib -L. -arch i386 -arch x86_64 -lruby -lreadline -lncurses -lpthread -ldl

To be sure we are using the real readline run otool and make sure libedit doesn’t appear on the results:

$ otool -L readline.bundle readline.bundle: /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/1.8/usr/lib/libruby.1.dylib (compatibility version 1.8.0, current version 1.8.7) /usr/lib/libncurses.5.4.dylib (compatibility version 5.4.0, current version 5.4.0) /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib (compatibility version 1.0.0, current version 125.0.0)

Step 5: Replace readline.bundle

cd /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/Current/usr/lib/ruby/1.8/universal-darwin10.0/ mv readline.bundle readline.bundle.libedit cp /tmp/rlruby/ruby-75/ruby/ext/readline/readline.bundle readline.bundle

Now launch irb and check if all your favorite shortcuts are in place

Sick of getting your wordpress hacked? (contest below)

Jorge Bernal — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:35:11 +0000

I sure am. After a proper installation/configuration, the most important factor is to always stay updated to the last version. I’m managing at this time 8 or more blogs/websites running different versions of WordPress and it’s hard to keep them up to date.

Automatic upgrades help, although they still terrify me after the 2.8 crash.

The problem is, some of these blogs are set up for friends or old projects, and I forgot to frequently check if they are using the latest version. Most of the times, they become crammed with spam, and eventually trigger google’s malware detectors. Most of the times I notice the hack because of firefox malware warning.

So I started a side project to help me keep track of all those blogs and their versions, and it’s seems is close to see the light. This is how it looks right now:

I will need testing, so if you want to participate in the beta, fill the signup form, and I’ll send some invitations.

Also, I’m looking for a nice name for the thing. If you have a good idea, put it in the ‘Proposed name’ field on the signup form. The winner(*) will get the first beta invitation and free full access to the product for 1 year after it launches. Make sure a .com domain is available for the name you propose or it won’t have many chances.

(*) There will be only 1 winner: the first person to propose the chosen product name. Simple rules, but… without rules we are nothing but savages.

Discovr: a flickr experiment gone wrong

Jorge Bernal — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:41:51 +0000

I need help with this. I had a dream… Well, not so much as a dream, maybe a “It’d be cool to…”

I thought it’d be nice to discover new photos on flickr using your favorite photos and the people who also favorited those photos, and the favorite photos of those who also favorited my pictures. Still with me?

It’s actually a quite simple code (about 500 lines, check it on github: discovr), but it’s terribly slow. Some possible reasons:

Way too much data. I’ve found people with ~~around~~ more than 18000 favorites, and there are photos with more than 2k fans. After limiting to 50 last favorites, the numbers are still creepy. Following from my personal favorites (366), I discovered 1268 users and 52632 photos
Too complicated for an API. This is the kind of feature that wouldn’t be so hard to implement if you have access to the flickr database directly, but having to do so many requests adds a lot of time to the process.
Inefficient library. I had to do some modifications to the flickr ruby library just to make it work, but it’s still quite inefficient in some cases. Want to know the url of a picture (knowing the picture id)? 4 (completely unnecessary) API calls
My code is bad. OK, I know it’s ugly to start blaming everyone else. I know my code is not very good, as it’s a quick prototype. Still, I’m not sure if making my code/libraries better would be enough improvement given the network/api bottleneck

The simplified algorithm goes like this.

^?View Code RUBY

  # method from class User
  def similar_pictures
    similar = {}
 
    favorites.each do |favorite|
      favorite.favorited_by.each do |user|
        user.favorites.each do |v|
          similar[k] ||= {:weight => 0, :picture => v[:picture]}
          similar[k][:weight] += 1
        end
      end
    end
 
    similar.values.sort {|a,b| b[:weight] <=> a[:weight]}.select {|v| v[:weight] > 1}
  end

So I’ve created a github repository and uploaded the code: discovr at github. Feel free to clone, test and improve

42foo: all the virtual hosts you need for your web development

Jorge Bernal — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:57:24 +0000

I’ve done a fair amount of web “design” (mostly implementing designs of others) and development in the past, I usually set up a lot of virtual hosts in my local apache. I’ve done that in three different ways.

The quick&dirty hosts file

Point any of your development domains to 127.0.0.1 in the /etc/hosts file. It’s the easiest way, but you need to add them one by one. At some point, mine could look like this:

127.0.0.1 warp.dev
127.0.0.1 ebox-platform.dev
127.0.0.1 ebox-technologies.dev
127.0.0.1 jorgebernal.dev
127.0.0.1 projectA.dev
# ... and so on

Getting smart with dnsmasq

This is a more automated method. You install dnsmasq and configure 127.0.0.1 as your DNS server. Then add this to your conf:

address=/.dev/127.0.0.1

This worked well, and acted as a dns cache. But I had some trouble with dynamic dns entries at our old office: projects.warp.es would point to a local address inside the office and our remote IP from outside, so I found myself clearing the cache too often.

42foo: the zero-code web service

So I made it external. I bought 42foo.com and set up a bind zone with this:

@                       A       127.0.0.1
*                       A       127.0.0.1

So warp.42foo.com, ebox-platform.42foo.com or whateveryourprojectis.42foo.com always point to 127.0.0.1

You still have to set up the virtual host, but there is one step less for web development. Feel free to use it, and let me know if you set up something similar with a shorter domain name

Store countries with ISO-3166 codes in rails

Probably the best compact camera out there: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Jorge Bernal — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 23:19:39 +0000

Sorry for the title. Actually there is no overall “best camera”, “best laptop” or “best whatever”. It always depends on what you need. If you just need a compact camera to take some pictures of your family trips or your college parties, almost any camera will do the trick for a much lower price.

That said, if you are serious about learning photography you should probably get a DSLR. You can get a Nikon D40 for about $400 or a Canon Rebel XS (aka 1000D) for about $500. I own the older Nikon D50 and I love it. Most of the pictures in this website were taken with that camera. I would only upgrade to the Nikon D700 but the gain isn’t worth $3000 to me.

Then, why am I recommending the LX3? Simple. The only problem I have with my D50 (and any other DSLR for that matter) is the size. It’s not too big for a DSLR, but it’s not a gadget to carry everywhere.

So, if you want a portable camera which allows you to learn photography, the LX3 is for you. I won’t go too technical here, but let’s highlight some of the features

10 Megapixels (large enough for screen and print)
Shoots in RAW
It has manual exposure and manual focus modes, so you can learn all the basics
And the automatic modes are really smart
It’s actually a leica (in fact this one but with the lumix logo and $200 less in the price)
Very good optics
Shoots video in HD

If you want more details, read the full review at dpreview.

Some samples:

I added more contrast on this one, but the original was already amazing.

Macro focus works like a charm

Not actually a video, but a time-lapse. It has a hi-speed burst mode where it can take 3-megapixel stills at 6fps

Get a drink on Vimeo

Not mine, but shot with a LX3, although it seems to have gone through some good post-production

Words Don’t Mean The Same Thing To You… on Vimeo

If you like what you see, you can get the LX3 on Amazon for $567.99

Lock screen in OSX while saving energy

Jorge Bernal — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:59:42 +0000

UPDATE: It seems it’s not working on snow leopard so I uploaded a new version: Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

One of the things I miss most is a way to lock the screen in OSX. There are some ways, but they all come to the same idea: “require password to wake up form sleep or screen saver” and then sleep or start screen saver.

There are some times when I don’t want my computer to sleep, but still want it locked: I’ll be away but…

…downloading/installing something
…want remote access
…you name it

The problem with screen savers in mac is that there is no blank screen saver. They’re all beautiful OpenGL savers that look really nice (even when nobody is looking at them), but consume CPU and I usually found my laptop hot as hell when I come back.

It turns out that creating a blank screen saver is way easier than I thought.

Open Xcode
New Project -> Standard Apple Plug-In -> Screen Saver
Build it
Install it

The base template for a screen saver in Xcode is just that. A blank view. It’s not so efficient as putting the display to sleep, but it’s a start.
If you don’t have Xcode and/or don’t want to waste a couple minutes following the steps, you can download it: Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

I’m not uploading the source, since the only change from the template was to change the update interval from 1/30 of a second to 10 seconds.

Sick of getting your wordpress hacked? (contest below)

Jorge Bernal

Spotify is the new Napster

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