A List of ALL Updates and Changes
This page includes a history of updates and changes to the Statbar Modifier. Every time I make a change, either on my laptop, the beta site (logo),
or the production site (statbar), I will make a note here. Simple icon uploads are exempt from this log, though I may note times I upload a horde of icons.
Please excuse the various off-topic comments that may crop up from time to time.
This page is provided to the public as a courtesy and to show this is an ongoing project. It displays fixes I have made and adjustments to the application.
Come back from time to time and you'll see what has changed.
DEFINITIONS AND TERMS:
overlay == icon == logo --> The images this application offers to put on the statbar
slip update --> Something that is slipped in between code moves; all logos are slip updates because they don't require a code move
production --> geocaching/statbar, this is the live version of what everyone uses. Highest reliability
beta --> geocaching/logo, this is where I test code I will move to production. Some times, I leave new features on the beta site until I'm happy with them. Do not use this site in
your statbar links; I do not guarantee it will always work! And it's fine with me to leave broken code on beta as long as it is fixed when it is moved to production.
laptop --> My cool Sager 8790, which, though four years old, is still good (3.4 GHz P4 HT, 2GB RAM, 800 MHz FSB, 60GB 7200rpm & 100GB 5400rpm HDD, 256MB ATI graphics)
GOALS:
Improve image resolution (ver. 4.0)
High-res stat bars (ver. 7.0 began to offer)
Skin stat bars (ver 7.0)
Animated statbars (user requested, version 8.0 experiment)
Cache type breakdown
Version 8.3.2 (20080805)
I fixed the static image code. It was using the old CustomLogo.CustomEngine object when it should have been using the
CustomTransparent.LogoEngine object. In order to develop on the Statbar Modifier with my laptop while still maintaining the
ability to move over production code, I created a new namespace and objects. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but it does
look like I'm now facing a little confusion as to which is which.
In preparation for the next version of the Statbar Modifier, I'm planning on recoding it from the ground up. I have some ideas I
want to try, ways to make things simpler, and a whole new way to acquire the data I need (a Groundspeak web service, now that
I can talk to them about it--thank you, Jeremy).
Version 8.3.1 (20080613)
I looked through the error log and saw some problems. I wonder if the shear quantity of statbars being requested from gc.com every
minute is reaching the tipping point? Uh-oh.
I added a patch to load the statbar from cache if an exception happens at that particular point (LogoEngine.cs: 796)
Version 8.3.0 (20080429)
I moved a color picker to production. Now you don't have to know HTML color codes to choose a color.
Note: The Statbar Modifier has now made 5.3 million statbars. Goodness.
Version 8.2.1 (20080227)
Moving some things in the UI to beta. I'll test there, then move the code to production in a day or two.
Version 8.2.0 (20080226)
The previous version had some problem requesting statbars from gc.com and would error a few times every minute. I fixed this download
problem and am now acquiring the statbars by a slightly different manner.
Once every half hour, it seems, the code runs into a problem replacing a statbar in the cache. As long as the code continues to run,
I won't mess with it at the moment. Stability and uptime are my main concerns.
Version 8.1.2 (20080220)
The number of logos has reached the tipping point yet again. I had to break the grouping in both the organization and geocachers' logos
sections into three groups each. Cool.
The version increment is due to modifying the language files and uploading the new code.
Version 8.1.1 (20080219)
Two people asked me for an animated statbar. While I still consider it experimental due to the number of features that are not available
with this feature, I decided to supply the request, but not include the animations on the main page. This takes the versioning out
of the experimental phase and back to a stable release.
You can now have a larger animation with a white statbar background. I have not yet tried a normal background.
Version 8.1 EXPERIMENTAL 4 - STABLE (20080129)
The Statbar Modifier now keeps a list of statbars it saves and updates. These can be referenced directly via a URL. The purpose of
this feature is to give users a static image to link to for forum signature lines. These special cached statbars will be updated
once an hour, on the hour.
I will commit all changes thus far in the next version and move the code to beta. It will no longer be experimental, but I'm still
wondering if I should make the static cache feature available to all users.
Version 8.0.0 EXPERIMENTAL 3 - STABLE (20080125)
I'm leaving this version up for a while longer.
I split the organization group into A-G and H-Z. This was done to prevent more logos from loading when the page first comes up. The
less files on initial load, the better for the user and bandwidth.
The previous day, gc.com had a problem with its statbar server. Mine caught that and switched over to the cached statbars. I am so
proud of that failsafe! Yeah!
Version 8.0.0 EXPERIMENTAL 3 - STABLE (20071231)
I increased the animated gif quality and added better animation positioning code.
For fun, I made a stable version of the code and uploaded it to beta (the logo directory) so I can use an animation on the Podcacher
forums. Kicks and giggles, really.
What's left? Tons. However, let's restrict it to the first release: UI and JavaScript, potential gif resizing code, and the border.
Border problem - There is a gap in the animated logo's bottom right border. I can't seem to fix it. Releasing it with this bug, in
my opinion, is a show stopper. I will need to fix that before the first release.
Version 8.0.0 EXPERIMENTAL 2 (20071225)
Between this experimental release and the last, I was able to make the statbar into an animated gif. However, I was not able to
call the thumbnail System.Drawing.Image method to shrink the animated gif's frames for some reason (the abort method kept
firing due to an unknown error). I tried various things, such as drawing the image on a bitmap via a graphic object, but all
attempts to circumvent this failed.
As of this version, I can place an animated gif on the statbar. However, this will result in an estimated 40KB statbar, which is
a bit pricey with bandwidth. However, I can still do it. The limitations for now: the gif must be on the left side and that
must be the only statbar modification (e.g. no background or right logo).
Due to the bandwidth issue, I will make a ruling: no animated gifs with backgrounds--period. Sorry, but I don't want to serve
200+KB statbars. That's just not right and will really kill my bandwidth.
Before I release this version, I will add two more animated gifs. I will also add a new section to the main logo selection page
that will make selecting an animated gif and right logo or background impossible. I may work on the right logo for a later
version, but want to see how well-received this new feature will be before committing myself to even more time. I have logged
12+ hours alone on this project. I have caches to log and runs to plan.
TODO: clean up code, add two gifs, adjust the UI page.
Version 8.0.0 EXPERIMENTAL 1 (20071220)
This experimental version was not released to beta or production.
Attempted to add animated gifs to the statbar. I got so far as creating a gif with all the images, but could not get the animation to kick off.
I guess this is one version no one will see. Too bad.
Version 7.2.2 (20071218)
Code roll-up, everything goes to production
Version 7.2.1 (20071108)
COMPLETELY FIXED the Firefox background accordion image loading problem. It will NOT happen again.
Updated production.
Began looking into adding a holiday statbar background. Or two...
Version 7.2.0 (20071101)
Added waymarking.com stats to the Statbar Modifier as an option.
Version 7.1.2 (20071029)
Fixed an issue where the background accordion would not always load in Firefox. At least I hope this fixes it...
I updated the "about" page.
I updated the "features" page to include detail on what the background options mean and what they are capable of.
I updated the "instructions" page for one of the customized statbar's URLs.
Version 7.1.1 (20071026)
Finalized hooking the error logging up to the site.
Discontinued use of the static URL. THEN I remembered how I hooked it up, so kept it like that as a courtesy to those using it. I still plan on phasing it out, but will
need another way to provide a static URL to users. This requires a custom server, so not right now.
Fixed a new sizing issue when a width supplied is negative and so is the background indent. Back to normal.
Looked into why some custom statbars are not caching the source statbar. No clue just yet. I'm hoping the error logging will shed some light.
Sorry for having to test directly on production, folks; some of these things don't happen on beta.
Version 7.1.0 (20071025)
Some time last week, I moved the RC1 to production. This was due to that odd problem with the DLL corrupting yet again.
I added ~25 international flags (through Greece) and a captain/pirate background, the first generic background (though, really, it's just a taller statbar at the moment)
The logo border is now just an option when a background is selected.
The statbar width and height fields now accept negative numbers. You can use negative numbers to slim the width and height when you don't know the background image's
actual width or height and don't care to look it up. Yes, I'm a bit lazy at times. But it could be useful.
Note: I need to create a user guide with documentation on these parameters.
Note: At times, gc.com doesn't return a statbar or there is an error somewhere in the program. Just wait up to four minutes and the problem will fix itself. Odd.
Version 7.1.0 RC1 (20071016)
This version includes all statbar background updates, the UI, and translations for the UI. This is the version I plan to release.
Statbars that use backgrounds: Ranger Fox (real version), creacher, Pink Dolphin, Kit Fox (deprecated)
Version 7.0.1 BETA (20071008)
A problem came up where backgrounds on statbars are more fuzzy than the original images. This was due to the backgrounds being a different dpi than the 95 dpi statbar. I have
begun to experiment on background dpi and am trying to see how high I can push it before things fall apart. I also need a way, like with the logos, to guarantee that, after
processing an image, I arrive at a consistent dpi.
Statbars that currently use backgrounds: Ranger Fox (test), Kit Fox, creacher, and a test demo gift for Podcacher (low priority).
Version 7.0.0 (20070925)
Due to a downloading problem on the site, I was forced to move this code base to production sooner than I would have liked. There is a lot of untested code in this code move.
That's okay because, with the way I am developing this, everyone's statbars will still use the old methods UNLESS their statbar is one of the customized ones. As I have
not released the UI to do this, everything works out. Goodie.
I am preparing a third test. Creacher will receive a custom statbar to test. I have a lot of image editing ahead of me.
This will be all the updates until after the Alabama Open Invitational.
Version 7.0.0 ALPHA (20070911)
Since Groundspeak has thus far ignored my emails, I came up with an idea that would at least allow me to break free of the normal statbar. Thus I created a quasi-customizable
transparent statbar. Users can adjust font color, positioning, and have a background. I wrote a completely new statbar processing engine for this one; I have been meaning
to clean the current one up and this was the best opportunity.
Version 6.1.0 (20070813)
It happened again! For some reason, the program DLL will eventually cease to work at some point. When that happens, I have to move my new code to the web server in order to
reset it. Well, this time, my new code included globalization. Not good--moving over something that works on only one page. But keeping the site up and functional is
my number one priority. Therefore, the code was moved. Too bad this happens.
That and the web server could not do the image conversion any more... Sigh...
Version 6.1.0 BETA (20070809)
MAJOR
Instead of forcing users to modify the URL, I created some script and UI that allowed them to click and choose the second logo.
I hope my translators will like this. It would also cut down on some translation work for them.
MINOR
I added the Italian translation for the first page (thank you, Kazuma). I had to localize a few more things, mainly in the JavaScript, where some text has not been
translated before.
Version 6.0.0 ALPHA (20070808)
MINOR
More testing and configuring. I finished the translation framework and the first page is now set up for it. Everything works properly and the site should remember the
user's language after that. I also created the "How To", or "Instructions", page.
Version 6.0.0 ALPHA (20070807)
MAJOR
The Statbar Modifier goes global! A ton a work went into learning a form of .Net globalization.
A big thank you goes for those in Europe who have submitted their logos! Because of your interest, enthusiasm, and support, I was able to put together a framework I can use
to make a multilingual version of the site!
Historical note: The first language added was German.
Version 5.3.02 (20070730)
MINOR
It may have been cute while it lasted, but since this site is international, the phrase "pimp my statbar" could be lost in translation. I decided to replace the phrase with
"modify my statbar", at least on the main page. For those reading this, in the part of the US I am located, "pimping" something means decorating in a different way
from the norm, usually in a somewhat off style, outlandish way. Slang never does translate well because one must also understand part of the pop culture--and pop
culture is difficult to understand anyway.
Version 5.3.01 (20070727)
NEWS
Just some quick stats: 77 unique organization logos and 75 unique personal logos and an average 4500 statbars requested every twenty or so minutes
Version 5.3.01 (20070725)
MINOR
I separated the organization and cacher logos into two groups, currently split at A-L and M-Z. Doing so makes the page load faster and cuts down on how much stuff you have
to download to search for your logo.
NEWS
I still have not heard from Groundspeak about the web services I requested. Too bad; I hoped to have everything almost done by now, but I'm now stuck waiting on them.
Version 5.3 (20070629)
MINOR
Added a "Features" page which explains what all the Statbar Modifier can do (aside from the logo thing). I'll include instructions on new features on this page.
Added a random logo feature to the Statbar Modifier. Look on the Features page for how to use it. Basically, it'll give you a random logo from a list you specify. Might be
a fun thing to try out. I added something like this for kicks and giggles.
Version 5.2.1 (20070627)
MINOR
I noticed the statbar was being rendered with the same quote if it was being rendered less than a second later. Is this an issue for gc.com? My program does not touch the
quote unless it is too large. Huh.
To fix this, I told my program to write the quote on all statbars. Problem solved.
I also disabled session state for the application and view state on the logo.aspx (logo generation) page. Hopefully, this will make the application faster and might help
prevent this odd intermittent problem.
NEWS
I'm impressed with the Google IG rotating themes. Perhaps I'll make something for the Statbar Modifier that randomly displays one of a few selected logs. You'll have to do
some URL editing, but it might be a fun diversion.
I'm still waiting on Jeremy's (Groundspeak) response as to the web services. I sent him a reminder last week. Next time I send something, I'll ask for a read receipt to know
he actually received the email.
Version 5.2 (20070626)
Moved current code file to production because that problem happened again -- the program began to fail and would not render statbars. Once I moved the same code and overwrote
production, it was fine. Very, very odd--and extremely annoying.
Version 5.2 (20070618, 11:15PM, EST)
MINOR
Added support for a second logo on the statbar. Add "&img2=" and the logo abbreviation (like what I'm doing for "&img=") to the end of the statbar's URL.
Version 5.1.3.x (20070618)
NEWS
I did a search for organization logos and added more to the Statbar Modifier. Here are twenty or so for your pleasure. As always, if you want something up here, send me a
link or the file and I'll add it to the Statbar Modifier. Keep in mind I will not add anything that isn't G- or PG-rated.
If page begins taking a while to load due to the shear number of logos in the "Organizations" section, I will split it, including A-H in one section and I-Z in the
other. I'll use this off-center split, instead of the normal A-M and N-Z, to limit the number of images that are initially loaded with the front page.
I'm looking into having a process where I store all manner of logo sizes on the server and it will dynamically resize them based on the statbar. I'm still thinking about it.
Mainly, I'm still trying to figure out just how much I should include in the fully customizable statbar. Should I allow users to specify a logo size in their statbar?
Should I keep it static and simply trust that if users want to include a larger logo they will put the logo in the background image? Perhaps I will go with the latter
idea, but I'm still thinking about it and experimenting.
I hid the Geowoodstock V image on the main page because the event has passed. You can still use it--I won't take it off the Statbar Modifier--but it was no longer needed.
One last thing. Does anyone wonder why I have certain logos on the top line of the "Organizations" tab? The first few are either popular logos or ones representing
organizations of which I am personally a member. Yes, a little favoritism from the start.
Version 5.1.3 (20070612)
URGENT PATCH
Something changed in the way the web server acted and processed the statbar images. I implemented a temporary patch and it works well. I coded it to be a permanent addition
to the code should it warrant that.
For you .Net people, here's what happened. After the statbar has been modified, I use the following code to transform the Graphics object into an Image object so I can output
it to the client:
return System.Drawing.Image.FromHbitmap(statbar.GetHbitmap());
However, an exception now fires, stating "Generic exception in GDI+". As if that helps. To fix this, I implemented the following code:
System.IO.MemoryStream ms = new System.IO.MemoryStream();
statbar.Save(ms,System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png);
img = System.Drawing.Image.FromStream(ms);
Version 5.1.2 (20070530)
MINOR
Fixed a problem with the "server down" feature; it would return the plain Groundspeak logo. At least it returned something when the Groundspeak image server was down,
but I really wanted it to modify the cached statbar. I fixed that, hence the version change.
Note: Keep in mind that if your statbar has not been cached and you request a modified statbar, you will see the "Geocaching.com is down for maintenance" image, which is fine.
NEWS
I spoke to Jeremy at Geowoodstock 5. I am typing up a draft email to him and I hope it goes well.
NOTE
Here's some information on funding and advertising you might find of interest. This application's expenses are coming from my pocket. I don't mind as I do other things with
the devfolio.com domain, most of which are private (the name means "development portfolio" and it's a mismash of stuff I have done, not accessible from anywhere but outside
links). To allow for the modified statbar to appear in certain forums, I would have to pay a little more than $60/month (USD) over what I am paying now. Sorry, but that's
not happening.
Second, a little about advertising. The bottom line is that I am disgusted with online advertising and will not contribute to it, nor condone its use. That and I don't advertise
the Statbar Modifier by any means other than word of mouth. If it's truly a good service, I believe people will come to it on their own time.
Therefore, this site will always remain 100% ad-free. Welcome to a safe haven.
As of this writing, I know I have 179 unique users, judging by the cache of statbars maintained on the site (for times when gc.com is down). Not bad for not advertising this.
Version 5.1.1 (20070517, 6PM)
MAJOR
I added the hide count to the customizable logo experiment. This is what it outputs:
It's getting close, but I still have many things to consider because so many items can overlap. I'll take my time, but the first version of that will be very sketchy.
MINOR
I added a Greasemonkey Script in response to a question asked in the Arkansas Geocacher forums. This script will replace
the statbar on your gc.com "My" page with the one you create here. Just copy the URL you get as output from the Statbar Modifier and it will do the rest.
Version 5.1.0 (20070517, 2AM)
MAJOR
Having gc.com down is somewhat rare, but it's not unheard of. Dealing with such a site outage should be part of the application.
Here's what I'm going to do: Every time your statbar is pulled from gc.com, the Statbar Modifier will cache it. Should gc.com go down, your statbar will be pulled from cache.
This is a sketchy thing to do because your find and hide count might be a bit dated because of that. But that's what I'm going to do for a little while until someone tells
me this solution is inferrior to the "Site Down" statbar.
So, what does everyone think? Contact me with your opinions.
Using this method, your statbar will be shown during a site outage while everyone else who uses gc.com will not. Seems cool.
Version 5.0.2 (20070517)
MINOR
When gc.com is down, the Statbar Modifier will now return a "Site Down" statbar. Hey, it beats a broken image reference!
Version 5.0.1 (20070516) - EXPERIMENTAL
NEWS ITEM
The following static statbar is the first successful test output of what I am currently working on--a fully customizable statbar! In the below test, the logo and quote are
optional. Also, the font color and size of everything is user-definable, either separately or all at once. The smart spacing is a little intelligent, but still on the
mentally-challenged side--but you can tell the custom engine where to put the text if that fails. You can also use a long background image and specify a width to cut
it at the right. I'm considering allowing people to adjust opacity and, perhaps, add more than one user quote (sort of like giving people the ability to add a watermark).
The query string used to generate the above is: img=geomire&w=310&bg=nccoast&us=14&afs=10&afc=orange&txt=First+custom+logo+test+-+20070516&fy=25&hy=25&hx=160&ty=40
(In the above example, the user's GUID has been removed from the query string.)
Please note this is only a third of what you will see. I have yet to write the code that will allow you to show your cache find and/or hide breakdown on your statbar.
That is coming in the next experimental version.
While the custom engine can get complicated, when compared to the work needed to put together a GUI, it's actually a snap. I imagine the GUI will be tough to make pretty,
so everyone will see a rough outline at first. Only people who want to play with positioning x and y numbers will at first be able to use the custom statbar. The
important thing is to get it out. After that, I will keep working on simplifying and beautifying the GUI so it would be point and click. Perhaps add a wizard in the
end. But, anyway, I'm still trying to figure out how it's supposed to look.
And, of course, all this work I have already put in hinges on Groundspeak's cooperation. Ouch. Please, please, please let there be good news when I talk to them at GW5!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Even after the custom statbar engine is implemented, I will still support the current image links. Your image references will continue to work
normally. However, there may be a slight difference in statbar look because the gc.com-like statbar will be run through the custom engine. Don't panic and trust me on
this; even after the custom engine is released, if you don't use a custom statbar, your statbar will still look like what you are currently getting from the Statbar Modifier.
Version 5.0.0 (20070515)
MAJOR
This update fixes another shortcoming in the gc.com statbar--user name clipping. When a user name is too long for the statbar, it is clipped. The same thing goes for the
"stats" suffix. This is very bad. Worse than the user quote clipping.
Fixing this problem would be easier with the gc.com web service. However, I don't have that yet, so a hack is in order.
I fixed this by creating a username fixes file. This contains an array of user names to GUIDs. If the guid exists in this text file, the application will fix the long user
name problem by measuring the string and extending the statbar however many pixels needed to fix this problem. A long user quote is also taken into consideration when
this feature is active. One side effect is that the user's name will be printed slightly different. However, this is a small price to pay for a fix such as this.
Test GUID: da8afb78-eab1-4560-92c7-bc95a08f3676 (Martin, from Franklin, GA)
Test GUID: fc089c1c-3aa7-4d90-81ba-06cc7fb6fca1 (Physteeguy & Purple Princess)
NOTE
With this fix, the LogoEngine class now falls under my quality standards. I plan to clean this up in the next minor version. However, with the fully customizable statbar
work on the horizon, I don't know if I need to even bother. We'll see after GW5, when I get to talk to Brian Ross or even Jeremy about this.
Version 4.2.2 (20070511)
MINOR
Before this version, all logos had 145px given to them for display on the main page. While the Tube Torcher logo was fine with exceeding that because it was the last thing
on the list, adding the USCGA logo became a problem: it was 200px wide.
I implemented a hacked logic where a ",,true,<group name>" entry in the text file would prompt the JavaScript (being sent a blank string) to give the logo preceeding this
entry a 290px width. I also had to make a code change because the C# code would output ".jpg" to the JavaScript, given an empty logo file name.
Affected files: index.aspx, index.aspx.cs, uscga.png, and logo list file.
I gave the accordion a fifth row and increased the column count to six. This puts it at 900px wide, so I'm concerned it may not fit most monitors. If anyone has a problem
with not being able to see the entire accordion at one time, let me know and I will change it back to five columns!
NOTE
The "Tube Torcher" logo I am using is not the official one. I created one from scratch and styled it as close as I could to the original. This is because I want this logo
to have transparency when I move over to the fully-customizable version of the Statbar Modifier. I am, however, using the official TT2 logo.
Version 4.2.1 (20070509)
MINOR
Logo transparency, while supported, wasn't initially expected by the code, so the original gc.com logo began to show through. I updated the program to draw a white rectangle
over the gc.com logo. Transparency will be for what I'm planning in the future.
I added a bunch of logos from Texas. Thank you for making this popular! The more popular this becomes, the more of a chance I have at justifying the web service request to
Groundspeak. Keep 'em coming!
NOTES
I sent the web service request to Groundspeak, but it bounced because the email address did not exist. Okay... Perhaps I'll wait until GW5.
I will be on a caching run in Virginia, ending at GW5, between May 20th and 26th. I will not be able to handle any logo submissions unless I find an AC outlet. As long as I
have a cell phone signal, I have Internet connectivity. While I hope to continue answering logo requests during this time, the response rate will drop from a few hours to
one or two days. Therefore, as a general rule, I will say I cannot post logos during this time.
SITE PROBLEM (20070428 10 AM - 8:30 PM)
What happen? Someone set us up a bomb? [sic] Not really.
I would like to thank "Papa de la GrosseFamille" for his kind heads-up about today's problem. Thank you very much; I read the email on my way back from some kayak caches today. Thank you!
So, what did happen? Actually, I have no idea. Here's the story straight: I did not make any changes, but the program DLL that drives the web site wasn't... well... driving.
To fix it, I moved the copy I had from my laptop over to the production site.
The next question I ask myself is how I can prevent this from happening again. I cannot, folks. It would be one thing if the connection to gc.com is severed, but when the code is
down, nothing works. I have never had this happen before on any professional site I created. I hope that means the problem is rare. I check the site every day, so don't worry
on that end.
The bottom line: I take these very seriously, but I don't know what is to be done about this instance.
Version 4.2.0 (20070418, production on 20070423)
MAJOR
Added support for PNG logos (before, all logos were in JPEG format). All future logos will be saved in PNG format. Later, all existing logos with transparency will be converted to PNG.
This move is in preparation for the next step--background images.
Notes
This version has been in beta (/logo) for a few days while I twiddled with things. I don't want to break the code, so am very careful what I am moving to production (/statbar).
Version 4.1.1 (20070413 production release)
MINOR
Per information at the following link, the Rico accordion problem has been solved. I can now move the accordion update to the live site.
http://forum.openrico.org/topic/1836
What does the accordion mean?
The page will load faster because there are less initial images to load. This also means the page is able to provide you with more images while still looking pretty.
There is a bandwidth saving for me so that I don't go near the bandwidth allotment for this domain (10GB; this service usually uses 200MB a month).
Added another cacher's logo and the April Signal icon to the statbar modifier (slip update)
Notes & News
I am typing up a request to Groundspeak for the web service. It will go out next week.
This service will ALWAYS remain free, without any sort of ads. Why? I hate ads, that's why. There's enough everywhere else, anyway (hint: use Greasemonkey and other Firefox
extensions to remove them)
--I also do not track user GUIDs through this; I have no idea which users are requesting the statbar--and it will stay that way. The only thing I track is the number of
requests between application restarts. Period.
--Basically, I built the thing and I just want people to use it because it's cool. If no one uses it, making it was a waste of time I could have spent caching.
Next: Change all overlays to PNG files for better resolution (for now, I will modify the application so if the PNG is not available, it will use a JPEG).
Version 4.1.0 (20070409, beta release)
MAJOR
Completely changed the way the icons are presented. I incorporated Rico's accordion into the UI and created scripts, styles, and structure designed to populate only one accordion
content panel at a time. The page loads faster, bandwidth is saved, and I can display more icons and categories.
MINOR
Adjustment to the Thank You page
Notes & News
Bandwidth consumed by this application amounts to a few hundred megabytes a month. That's not much, considering I can transfer 10GB a month before having to pay more. Good deal.
I have been provided contact information for someone at Groundspeak. Once I catch up on cache logs, I will contact this person about the web service request. Whoo-hoo! I just might
be able to provide some really, really cool stuff after GeoWoodstock 5!
Version 4.0.1 (20070301)
MINOR
Added a few new icons a few days ago
Added the March Signal icon (Safari Signal) - Thank you, Groundspeak, for wonderful art, reliably provided at the beginning of every month
Anyone else for icon requests? Bring it on!
Notes & News:
Mentioned the web service on the gc.com forum again. To proceed, I either need that web service, some way to screen scrape
reliably (which I'm not about to do because it is a blatant violation of TOU), or an OCR to read the text from the statbar.
I wonder if I'm ready for the OCR route?
Check out the Greasemonkey scripts for gc.com. I modified one of them for
my own use; my mileage tracker coin is now automatically selected on all logs.
Version 4.0 (20070218)
MAJOR
Changed the output type from JPEG to PNG. The resulting resolution is much, much better. Much higher quality. Yippee!
Note: As far as I can tell, this does not affect anything on the users' side, so should be transparent to them.
Moved all header information to a web user control, put in a repeater, and added necessary properties.
A code move is now required when I add more pages, but that should be few and far between; best to work on the internals
and not worry about the UI. After all, most users will only see this UI site once and be done with it. Why waste
my development time?
MINOR
Created the changelog page and removed the change log from the index file's source
Added a few more icons
Added an example to the "About" page. Doesn't look too pretty, but it'll do.
Added two case examples to this changelog. You can see the version 4 improvement best when there's a solid color or a bunch of little details.
Added a brag to the front page: "Now with improved image quality!"
NOTE
I found a way to get around forum software for dynamic images. However, that requires an IIS tweak. My web hosting account will
not let me ask for an IIS tweak. If I want something like that, I'm going to have to upgrade. Currently, hosting is, I think,
$100/year or so. If I upgrade, I think it'll be $30/month = $260/year. Sorry people, that's not worth it for now.
I'll have to find another way around. This is the only bug and it's taking forever to figure out. I wonder if I could make some
sort of database solution? Nah; I would still need that custom IIS mapping to the proper file type. So, in the end, I still
have no idea.
CODE MOVE -- ALL
Test on beta -- OK
Verson 3.01 (20070210)
MINOR
Formatting on the thank-you page, inclusion of icons and locations
Added a thank you to the Lunchtime Gang for sending a geocoin my way. I'm liking this; add icons, get coins. But, really, any
sort of thank you, written or gift, is the best thing. Just so long as people like this and use it, I'll continue to pour
some effort into it. Now, if I could only get that web service...
Version 3.0 (20070209)
MAJOR
Created a web site around the statbar modifier
Split topics into three pages (will need to set up include files later)
Wrote a heck of a lot on the other pages
MINOR
More icons!
Sent email to Groundspeak concerning the web service (20070207). With my current experience of Groundspeak and my own personal
workplace, I'll get a fast response when asking if they've looked into it, but the priority on such a request is low, as it should be.
After all, it's been since November I have discussed using JavaScript on my profile page and I have yet to get a verdict... If May
comes around and I still don't have a response, to heck with it; I'm going to put the JavaScript back.
Version 2.32 (20070206)
MINOR
Added a ton of new icons: Groundspeak Signal goodies and the 50 US states & DC (it's only a matter of time before I add countries)
Assumedly, this is OK usage as it is advertising for them. If they don't like that, I'll remove it. Either way's fine.
Added a "thank you" section
Still need that web service...
Version 2.31 (20070122)
MINOR
Slid the overlay table under the left heading to accommodate smaller monitors.
Added quite a few icons
Looked into more image quantization -- still need to reduce grain
(But what can you do when that's the natural result of consuming gc.com's **96 dpi** logo?)
(Note to self: Once I find a gc.com web service for this, offer high-res stat bars.)
Experimented with 404 handler and tried to add a GIF HTTP handler -- unsuccessful
Version 2.3 (20070115)
MAJOR
Added backend support to including blank lines in the overlay file name text file.
Due to the KTAG (wide version) logo size, the logos will now only fit four a line instead of five (style mod)
EDIT: Made the groups wider to accommodate the larger logos, so I'm back to five logos per line.
MINOR
Sorted most of the overlays by alpha, but will display the popular and special overlays at the top.
Decided to use three lines to display the organizations while everything else will have one or two lines, max.
Added a few error messages to the JavaScript code so it'll tell the user something.
CODE MOVE -- DLL
Version 2.2 (20070109)
MAJOR
Added 404 URL redirection to the stat bar (to get around some software not allowing dynamic images)
Updated the UI to show this link. There are too many underscores...
MINOR
LogoEngine (core) - addressed the bottom white line on pixel row y-2
Some comment clean-up
Version 2.1 (20061218?)
Allowed for longer text content (something gc.com doesn't provide)
Added some quantizers to help clean up the image
Version 2 (20061208)
Thought of using AJAX to get the GUID and control everything, but there's no point if you can do it using JavaScript on the client side.
Added JavaScript
Added image grouping
Replaced the application image loading with LogoGroup and Logo objects
Added repeaters and mucho formatting to make the grouping and such look pretty
It's almost time I turn my attention to the UI now that the proof-of-concept is out of the way
Version 1 (20061206)
Proof-of-concept and initial code