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HTML5 video – no webm.

mr.snow — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:48:40 +0000

Quick recipe for HTML5 video with Flash fallback. Used here.

Download (and fix) HTML5media
Your will need flowplayer.js and html5media.js. Keep flowplayer.swf in the same directory.
Convert source videos to h264/mp4 and ogg. See ffmpeg switches below.
Add tag. Add two lines and an optional line. See below.

Once installed correctly, h264 will play in Chrome, Safari, Mobile Safari (iPad). Ogg will play in Firefox. Flash will play the H264 on Explorer (and Firefox if you don’t provide an ogg version).

Here are the ffmpeg switches for compressing these files. I’ve installed ffmpeg from Debian multimedia. These files are square pixel and square format. You can also check the input format by just calling ffmpeg -i INPUT.mp4. That might give you an idea of what -b (bitrate) and -bt (bitrate for libx264) should be like.

ffmpeg

rossetti@Wakatipu:~$ ffmpeg -i flower3_15_2.mp4 -cropright 210 -cropleft 210 -aspect 1 -s 544x544 -vcodec libx264 -r 25 -b 516k -bt 516k -crf 22 flower3_15_2-crop.mp4

rossetti@Wakatipu:~$ ffmpeg -i flower3_15_2.mp4 -cropright 210 -cropleft 210 -aspect 1 -s 544x544 -r 25 -b 516k flower3_15_2-crop.ogg

HTML5

This code hides the builtin controller. You can easily control it from javascript however. This one will preload anyway (it will start buffering even if paused) and autoplay. The contents of the tag is parsed by the browser looking for a file it can play. Firefox will stop parsing at ogg and play. Internet Explorer (without the html5media javascript library) will only see the tag. If you’re not autoplaying, will show before play.

One thing to watch is that may not respect the width/height attributes that you specify.

HTML5media

The fix I mention is in the regular expression that detects compatibility. It fails (for me) in Firefox on mp4s. Here’s a patch.

// Extracts the mimetype from a format string. function getMimeType(format) { - return format.match(/\s*([\w-]+\/[\w-]+);|\s/)[1]; + if ( format.match(/\s*([\w-]+\/[\w-]+)|\s/)[1] ) + return format.match(/\s*([\w-]+\/[\w-]+)/)[1]; + else +// this fails if you pass in a raw mimetype ( ie firefox passing in type="video/mp4" + return format.match(/\s*([\w-]+\/[\w-]+);|\s/)[1]; }

Drupal vs Wordpress

mr.snow — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 06:13:15 +0000

Skip to the meat in the sandwich

In preplanning a project now underway I’d flipflopped every couple of days about the web framework that I thought I’d use for it. Discussing it in house on various occassions I’d managed to convince Cossioski one way and then another railing on avantages of one over another.

On the day the build commenced I thought I’d finally decided on Wordpress and so, picking up my new Wordpress 3.0 pick, proceeded to break ground.

Which went surprisingly well. The new menu builder is a boon and would have saved a lot of fracking about that we’ve done in the past. Quickly I had framed up the information architecture of the site and was uploading content. Theming began and things took on shape.

Doubt set in. Was this going to be Too Easy? All the things I got for free with Wordpress and our own wp-plugins I’d have to create from scratch in Drupal. But would I – once again – get eleven tenth’s the way through before realising the folly of my decision? Be staring from the Comfy Chair of Wordpress into a performance abyss fuelled by a Scotch / SQL-distored haze? What could be done?

Split test. Good old A-B. Tools went down. Drupal came down and with the old `drush en cck` I was off. Up came the frame. Up came the types. On goes the theming.

One day each and both sites are in the same state. So which one to pursue ?

Firstly there was the inital reason that I didn’t try Drupal first. With our inhouse Attachments plugin for Wordpress we get video’s with associated poster frames for free. With Wordpress we get attachment sorting for free. How do I do that in Drupal?

A middle of the night revelation solved that and sent me into the split test. In Wordpress video’s are attachments of gallery items. Posters are children of videos. To replicate that in Drupal I realised that I could make separate content types for videos and use node references to tie them to gallery items. And interestingly (news to me) if you use autocomplete for node references instead of select lists or checkboxes (for multiple references) you get sorting for free. Nice!

Ok. So now some lists.

Feature	Drupal	Wordpress
2 custom menus	Primary/secondary links	Menu builder
Posters per video	content type	attachments plugin
Media per gallery item	node reference	attachments
Metadata per gallery item	cck	custom fields plugin
Gallery item per gallery	node reference	parent pages
Backgrounds per page	node reference	custom fields plugin
Page sorting	builtin	sorting plugin
Video sorting	builtin	builtin
News items	blog module	builtin

Ups and downs.

Theming. Wordpress easy. Drupal hard.
Admin interface. Wordpress overburdened. Drupal tidy.
Content reuse. Wordpress hard. Drupal straightforward.

The Gap

My knowledge of Drupal’s ajax methods is currently zero. Gap.
If we need tags – Wordpress can’t tag pages. Wordpress can tag posts but can’t parent posts. It gets messy quickly and goes around in circles. Gap.

The Decision

Drupal. More stuff builtin. More content reuse (node references). Fiddlier to content fill (node references). But a tidier editor view (no cruft). Harder to control HTML. Better caching. Faster page building. More unified user interfaces for content editors (drag and drop sorting looks the same everywhere). Admin themes.

But Wordpress was a pretty close second.

Converting files for uShare & Samsung

mr.snow — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 12:31:57 +0000

The oft-sited manual page
http://i397.photobucket.com/albums/pp60/samsung_hd_tech/Page82.jpg

After a lot of fooling around I twigged to the fact that SD MP4 support is limited to H.264/AAC @ 720×576 25fps. The key seemed to be the size – frame rate and audio codec mayn’t be so crucial. To that end the following seem to work with ffmpeg.

I’m still to get HD working (possibly uShare’s issue) but
H.264 BP means Baseline profile
H.264 MP means Main profile

If you’re using ffmpeg you can use the -vpre (video preset) switch to automatically select Main or Baseline. My ffpresets files I copied from a source tarball of Handbrake into my ~/.ffmpeg folder.
laudanum@Wakatipu:$ cp /home/rossetti/installers/HandBrake-0.9.4/build/contrib/ffmpeg/ffmpeg-r19067/ffpresets/* ~/.ffmpeg/
Then I can use them like this
Main profile
laudanum@Wakatipu:~$ ffmpeg -i [infile] -vpre default [outfile].mp4

Baseline profile(s)
laudanum@Wakatipu:~$ ffmpeg -i [infile] -vpre main [outfile].mp4 laudanum@Wakatipu:~$ ffmpeg -i [infile] -vpre baseline [outfile].mp4

To get SD (standard definition) files that work both with uShare and Samsung I’ve been doing this.

16:9 aspect at 720×576 (anamorphic – stretched pixels) copying existing audio
laudanum@Wakatipu:~$ ffmpeg -i [infile].m4v -f mp4 -s 720x576 \ -aspect 16:9 -acodec copy -vcodec libx264 -vpre default \ -vb 5000k [outfile].mp4

2.39:1 aspect (widescreen) converting audio too
laudanum@Wakatipu:~$ ffmpeg -i [infile].m4v -f mp4 -s 720x576 \ -aspect 2.39 -acodec libfaac -ab 256k -vcodec libx264 -vpre default \ -vb 5000k [outfile].mp4

Note in the first example I don’t convert the audio – that’s because it’s already in one of the preferred formats (from the Samsung chart) – AAC. We can figure that out before we encode (libfaad is AAC – but if we’re encoding we use libfaac). Notice also that the reason it won’t play as is is that the pixel shape isn’t 720×576 – which is why we have to convert it.
laudanum@Wakatipu:~$ ffmpeg -i [infile].m4v Stream #0.0(eng): Video: h264, yuv420p, 720x552, 25.00 tb(r) Stream #0.1(eng): Audio: libfaad, 48000 Hz, stereo

Don’t worry about overdoing the -vb (video bitrate) as ffmpeg will only use what it needs – ie: if the input bitrate is lower than the -vb then a lower bitrate is used.

Down here I’m keeping some notes on compressing mp4 for iPhones.
http://lists.mplayerhq.hu/pipermail/ffmpeg-user/2010-May/025480.html
-y -i “c:\vid-in\20077.mov” -aspect 4:3 -r 24 -s 640×480 -acodec aac -ab
96k -ar 22050 -vcodec libx264 -fpre
“c:\videoencoder\bin\libx264-hq.ffpreset” -fpre
“c:\videoencoder\bin\libx264-baseline.ffpreset” -b 400k -bt 400k -threads 0
“c:\vid-out\20077_m2.mp4″

IPhone 3gs (third generation) plays the videos fine.

first and second generation IPhones do not (get a Quicktime arrow with a
slash through it).

Hyperplex

zina — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 07:14:50 +0000

Exhibition: Translations, Curated by Terminus Projects 2007

Location: Bondi Junction Westfield atrium, Bondi Junction, Tower 1

When: July 2007

Zina Kaye installed Hyperplex, an intervention within a sophisticated LED system that disrupted the media saturated environment of Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre with a series of obscure, but subversive conversations. Shoppers and flanneurs were able to peek into the lives of several people who corresponded via the LCD system. Three pairs of characters: an eloquent couple who have moved from lovers to best friends; an eccentric brother and sister who correspond through coded exchange; and two teenagers tossed about by their desires, ’spoke’ to each other in a mix of colloquialisms, aphorisms, sayings and mixed metaphors.

The conversations dealt, in part with the proliferation of the language of fear. These tensions were subtley translated within Kaye’s script from different generational perspectives. Viewers eavesdropped on part of a conversation and could contemplate the familiar yet fragmented nature of interpersonal communication.

To view the work and artist interview:

Zina Kaye: Hyperplex interview and installation

Press:

Hyperplex – Ella Maudie. ANAT Filter 67.

Active Loitering – James Dodd. ANAT Filter 67.

Text Messages: Zina Kaye, Caia Hagel & Tim Georgeson – George Alexander. ArtAsiaPacific No. 56.

Hyperplexic, desalinated by not scary – Ann Finegan, Artlink Vol 28, No. 1

See also:

What’s in Store: Visual Merchandising News – Amanda Carr. WGSN.com, September 2007.

T100 October 2007 Visual Merchandising Report. T100.cn

Free vs Micro

zina — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 04:02:34 +0000

I’m reading Chris Anderson’s FREE while performing research on pricing models for an internet service. FREE is a jolly bus-ride through old and new business models, and ideas about market share, pricing, and behavioural economics. You can tell I’m enjoying it very much.

The book covers four basic financial models and really – let’s face it – focuses on behaviours in developed countries only.

Anderson bases his argument on the tenet that it’s in everyone’s best interest to fast-track brand establishment and market share. If you’ve done corporate finance you’ll concur and point solemnly to texts that note that endless wild growth is unsustainable and that most high growth operations tend to fall in line with CPI within the first few years. The point of FREE is that it’s much easier to blow the competition out of the water if they don’t have to get out a wallet.

People who know me will attest to my ongoing passionate interest in micropayments. Micropayments are typically transactions between $1 to $12. The idea is that you should be able to make small payments that will – through their sheer volume – lubricate the market enough to keep it going. Anderson doesn’t agree with the proposition. He uses Nick Szabo’s “mental transaction costs” as an argument against micropayments saying that,

“If you charge a price, any price, we are forced to ask ourselve if we really want to open our wallets. But if the price is zero, that flag never goes up and the decision just got easier.

“… (Szabo was right: Micropayments have largely failed to take off.)”

I find this an extraordinary thing to say given the phenomenal success of Legion Interactive, iTunes, Ebay & Google Adwords. I also happen to believe that the FREE model has been foisted on creatives for way too long and they often have a huge challenge meeting basic needs. It’s fine to gather brand share but then what? What’s the endgame? Well to quote Bruce Sterling’s response to Cory Doctrow in his State of the Nation 2010:

“Ever heard of “disruptive innovation,” “disintermediation,” “offshoring,” “small pieces loosely joined,” “de-monetization,” “plug and play,” “the network as a platform”? Of course you’ve heard of all that crap, because you’ve been tub-thumping it your entire adult life, but what the hell did you think that was all about? Did you think you were gonna bend every effort to virtualize reality, and then get a gold railway-retirement watch and a safe place to park the cradle?”

Appropriateness is obviously the keyword when thinking about both FREE and micropayments.

Micropayments in particular are going to succeed when the billing situation is appropriate. Think about phone credit as a trusted central payment gateway. Would you use your phone to buy a loaf of bread and a paper on a Sunday morning? To lend someone five bucks? To get into a movie theatre? To pay off a student loan? Maybe you get paid in phone credit and it’s handy because the government will find it harder to track and tax you.

The mobile money schemes in Africa are the product of some of the greatest thinking in micropayment execution and a model that I’m sure will find its way here. African consumers have an immense need for a reliable, secure, low cost banking system. So how handy is it when banking can effortlessly piggyback on the region’s high uptake of mobile phones that don’t required fixed line infrastructure. In September 2009 The Economist published a special report on the power of mobile money. They reported that in Kenya 7 million – just under a fifth of the population – use M-PESA. Roughly $2m is transferred every day, with an average transaction cost of $20

From Africa to Brazil, China, Australia, New Zealand and through Europe – I think there is a place for mobile banking. It may not be a huge profit card for mobile carriers but it will make them popular, revitalise brands and who knows – it might shake up the EFTPOS and the credit card cartels.

The point is that both FREE and micro are good.

Websites

mr.snow — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 03:54:03 +0000

At House of Laudanum we do nothing but sit around in our linen overalls thinking about smart ways we can make our clients more fame and money. We design & develop sites, reorganise content to make it more friendly, conduct research and argue avidly about what the future will look like.

We’re not totally addicted to the internet. We also consume chocolate, pastries, schematics on how to achieve MACH 3, mineral water, strong flat whites, stylish shoes, urban planning podcasts, blog posts, YouTube videos and other people’s Pros & Cons lists.

Here are some of our more recent websites and web applications. Have a look at some examples or choose a specific topic from the menu on the left like Wordpress or Drupal.

Your best course of action is simply to get in touch. Come and see the linen overalls in action.

Job opening: Content Filler

zina — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:20:08 +0000

We’re building websites for Australia’s creative people. We’re looking for a sympathetic person who can understand and help these people amass their material, and then use that material to fill their website.

Each website is built using a content management system. That means that to fill the site you fill out forms in a web browswer: copying and pasting the material into the appropriate place in the form. Images are also uploaded via the form, and a content filler needs to have an aesthetic eye because you may need to make decisions about where icons should be cropped or which part of an image is important. A comfortable understanding of Photoshop is really helpful.

We provide training and a place to work, or you can work from home. There’s a lot of variety in the job, so you’ll never be bored by the content. You’ll either be good at spelling, or good at using a spell-checker. And you’re probably a details person, so we’ll teach you how to encourage people to give you the details you need in the most useful way.

You’ll learn about project structure and being part of a web team.

Sounds like something you’d like to do? Email CONTACT FORM with a brief description of yourself and a 100 words about what you plan to do with your life in the next 2 years.

Approach

mr.snow — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:29:24 +0000

The internet isn’t the only way we interface to the online world. We help you decide the best way to deliver your content, and whether there are any social media strategies or development strategies that can be deployed to support your information/brand/ work. Humans are very flexible and love bending technology spaces to their own means.

The mobile phone, bed-side communicator, tablet magazine, 3D world, sign, social media space: these are all spaces that we can help you inhabit.

Finally we do back of house work for those who need just the right mix of creative thinking and application development. We believe it’s important to write a roadmap that indicates where you want to go, so that the project fits into your core goals and needs. As we progress through the project we review how we are doing against the roadmap. At project end a debrief is crucial and can also include some check measures to motivate action.

Our job is to help you figure out how to be a player in the online environment. The online economy can mean loads of sales to a remote audience, or infrequent but endless small sales of intellectual property. It means being aware about what people are saying about you on the internet. It can mean creating a digital version of your personality that has its own talk show or trawls online data: a personality that represents you whilst you are asleep.

“Got a packet bigger than ‘max_allowed_packet’ bytes” MySQL error

mr.snow — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:18:29 +0000

Trying to import a large SQL backup I encountered this error.

“Got a packet bigger than ‘max_allowed_packet’ bytes”

The fix is to increase the MySQL daemon’s max_allowed_packet. You can do this to a running daemon by logging in as Super and running the following commands. Keeping the session open create a 2nd session in which to run the import.

The (mt) dv mysql root username is `admin` and the password is the cpanel/plesk password.

# mysql -u admin -p

mysql> set global net_buffer_length=1000000; Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> set global max_allowed_packet=1000000000; Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/93128/mysql-got-a-packet-bigger-than-maxallowedpacket-bytes
http://kb.mediatemple.net/questions/1070/What+is+the+root+username+for+MySQL%3F

Adding a rule to iptables.

mr.snow — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 05:35:01 +0000

Who is hammering FTP on our server?

sudo grep "no such user"  /var/log/syslog | cut -d[ -f 3 | cut -d] -f 1 | sort | uniq -c | less

What firewall rules do we have in place?

sudo iptables --numeric  --line-numbers -L INPUT | less

How do we add to the rules immediately?

sudo iptables --insert INPUT 3 -s xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -j DROP