dorian moore : (digital media) technologist

Some of the time

I'm currently working 1 day a week at Warp Records optimising and maintaining their webiste [which I built before I left Kleber].

Posted by Dorian Moore on Sunday, April 28, 2002 at 15:05 GMT
Last modified Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:22 GMT

Jörg Schilling writes...

A followup to my article regarding DVD writing under Linux.

I received this email yesterday:

I just found this page from you:

http://www.dorianmoore.com/index.php?ti_id=33

and I am not happy with it!

The text does not reflect reallity, see:

ftp://ftp.fokus.gmd.de/pub/unix/cdrecord/ProDVD/

Also please keep in mind that the patch you mention is not actively maintained.
While cdrecord is constantly improving, people like the author of the mentioned
patch usually di a quick shot. The patch appeared about a week after the first
cdrecord-ProDVD version that did work with activation keys and thus could allow
tests has been published. AS I did not disable the -V SCSI Debug option, and
the patch is only ~ 150 lines, it is obvious that this patch is created by
rreverse engineeering cdrecord.

Also note that this patch has problems with the fact that the drive writes CDs
and DVDs

Jörg

This was my response. I'm waiting to hear back from him.

Hi Jörg,

Knowledge is free, I merely wrote what I found out, to help other people. I'm sorry if it offended you.

As it happens, I contacted you about cdrecord ProDVD at the time and you told me, rather bluntly, that all the information about it was on your website. I looked at EVERY page, and it wasn't there. I also looked at your ftp server, and couldn't find it there. What is said to send you money, it doesn't say where to, or how [I'm not sending $100 cash in the post] and it doesn't promise to provide any guarantees as to what I would get for my money.

It seems that you have updated your site since then.

ftp://ftp.fokus.gmd.de/pub/unix/cdrecord/ProDVD/README
********** NEW: On March 9th, we are celebrating 4 years of cdrecord-ProDVD

Of course, that will be the 9th of march in which year? 2002 I assume, as it wasn't there when I looked in January.

As you will see from my page quoted below it was written on 19/01/2002 [19th of January 2002]. I am, like you I'm sure, very busy. I said when I found out about availability of you software I would update my site, and I haven't found out until now, because the solution I had has worked find for my purposes.

As I see from your text referenced about you have produced a key which will time out on the 17th of June [this year?]. Then we have to request a new key. Will we have to keep on doing this? For how long?

I have a lot of things to do and don't want to be forced into upgrade paths or time limited software. I do appreciate the time you have put into creating the software. I'm happy to pay a reasonable price for a license to reflect this. I'm happy to change the text on my site as well. If you can provide me with a clear license and guide to how to pay you, and what we can expect for our money. Otherwise it seems that your information is no clearer than Micro$ofts I'm afraid to say.

This seemed to be the point of view of several people who have contacted me thanking me for my text, and who haven't been able to work out where to go on your site or how to proceed using it. I'm sorry to say it, but it's very hard to tell what information is what on your site.

Perhaps, to this end, I can suggest something to our mutual benefit: How about you email me a copy of the cd-record website, and I clean it up and make it more useable for people, in return for a license for cdRecord-proDVD. This way my skills [web designer, usability, web programmer] complement your skills [software development] and we can make cdRecord easier to access, license, and use, by making the information about it better managed. I'd imagine that this would be a very cost effective solution for you, as my time is aorund £30/hour [1], and I'd imagine sorting out the CD-Record site would take me a couple of days. I probably wouldn't be able to do it for a couple of weeks.

Otherwise, simply tell me what it is you would like me to change about my site and I will change it. I know the patch is unsupported, and I am providing no guarantees. I feel that at the moment it reflects a balanced point of view on where the ground lay at the time of writing. I think Cdrecord is a great piece of software and you deserve whatever support you can for developing it.

Kind regards

_d._

[1] Oooh, typo : that should say £60/hour *grin*

Posted by Dorian Moore on Thursday, April 18, 2002 at 00:00 GMT
Last modified Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:22 GMT

PIII 1Ghz w 512Mb Ram, 40Gb Raid 1 HD

http://www.hosteverything.net

Posted by Dorian Moore on Wednesday, January 23, 2002 at 10:37 GMT
Last modified Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:22 GMT

A note to macromedia's forum.

I've saved this here because I've known messages like this to 'dissapear' from official company forums. It's not hugely damning, but I was venting a bit.

Hi,

I've been building a project which should work as a standalong projector on the Mac OS and Windows to load in XML data from an intranet web server and display it. This works find on Widnows, and in theory works find on the Macintosh in that it works in the .swf file. It even works when I load the .swf file into the Flash Player. But it fails when I make the project a stand alone projector.

I've found this technote [L=http://www.macromedia.com/support/flash/ts/documents/macprojloadvar.htm
]http://www.macromedia.com/support/flash/ts/documents/macprojloadvar.htm
[/L] which informs me of a bug reported last april which means that loadVariables does not work from projectors on the macintosh.

Does this bug affect the xmlData.load() function as well, or is there something wrong with my code?
If it is a bug, why haven't macromedia endevoured to fix it yet?
Is it Macromedias intention to fix this bug before the next major release of Flash?
If not why do macromedia sell a product with such a major bug and yet no mention of it in the documentation for the product?

I fell dismayed and ripped off that I pay for a product which is meant to work as a cross platform authoring environment, and then find that one platform is left in a stagnant position for so long. It seems that a lot of software companies are happy to espouse the new features of software yet unable to maintain the same comitment to solving problems once the product is on the shelf and sold to the end user.

And pray, what news of Flash 6? I've heard production companies in London saying they are allready working with Flash 6, though not a peep on Macromedia's site....

I look forward to your response.

Posted by Dorian Moore on Wednesday, January 23, 2002 at 00:00 GMT
Last modified Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:22 GMT

Getting files on the disk as either ISO9660 or ext2 format for system backup.

Introduction
Writing DVD's under Linux doesn't seem to be something that has much consistent documentation. At the moment their don't seem to be any tools which support writing DVD's to play in a domestic player, but that's not why I have a DVD-R/RW in my Linux box. I'm using it as a backup device, as CDR/RW is just to small.

DVD-R/RW vs Tape
Why not use DDS/AIT/DLT etc? I've had bad experiences with DDS tapes [they never have restored on me, and they feel slow and cumbersome to use]. AIT/DLT are expensive, and I've not used them much under Linux. DVD ROM drives are now very cheap and easy to install and work under Linux, thus you should find it quite easy to read your disk elsewhere once you've backed up data to it.

My DVD-R/RW
The Pioneer A03 DVD/RW drive [IDE interface] cost me just under �450, which is a bit cheaper than a DAT drive [and doesn't need a SCSI card]. It doesn't store as much data obviously, as a DVD-R or DVD-RW disk only holds 4.7GB, but that was plenty for my needs... and if the data set goes up in size then I can split it across disks.

Basic How To
The Linux CD Writing HowTo discusses all of the basic principles for writing to CD Rom, and i've been using the tools and principles to write to my Plexwriter 24/10/40A before.

First up I tried using the same basic principles to write a CD to the Pioneer drive [yep, it also writes CD-R and CD-RW] and everything when perfectly. Next step was to try and write a larger ISO image to the DVD portion. This wasn't as straightforward as it seems, as cdrecord 1.10 didn't want to burn anything that large to a disk, despite the referals to DVD's in the documentation.

DVD Writing Software
Perplexed I went and had a dig around Joerg Schilling's site for his cdrecord/cdtools. A quick look brought me up cdrecord-ProDVD which are binaries to be downloaded. I brought down the appropriate versions and they seem to work fine, but you can only cut up to 1 Gigabyte to a disk, or emulate a larger write. Why is this? It seems that Joerg would like us to buy the software, which seems reasonable. But he doesn't really explain how to get the money to him... and when I emailed him he just said 'send me $100' ... when I manage to find out what I get for the $100 and so on I'll update the site. In the meantime there is another solution. He did tell me that you also need to patch the kernel on your system for extended ISO9660 support. This is included in kernel 2.4.13 and later.

Note from J�rg Schilling Please read

After much searching I found Nicolae Mihalache had created a free patch for cdrecord to make it cut DVD's. I actually downloaded his distribution version of cdtools 1.11a08 with the patches applied, compiled them first time [I'm running a pretty standard install of RedHat Linux 7.2, with a customised compile of Kernel 2.4.17]. I did a make install and let them install in their own place, to keep them seperate from the original cdrecord/cdtools set I was using and which works very well, and I don't want to start interfering with... yet.

Also check out DVDRTools Talked about here

Using this version of cdrecord, I've been able to cut DVD's with ISO + RockRidge file extensions on them, or an ext2 partition created using a loopback device. The later is a prefered method for me as I use rsync to bring the data into the ext2 partition, and then just burn when ready.

The steps to success : ISO 9660 DVD Recording
To make an ISO image for DVD [for data backup, not general usage mind... if you want general usage check out the CD-Writing how to about ISO limitations]:

mkisofs \

  -o iso.img \ # output file

  -iso-level 3 \ # force unstrict ISO compatability

  -R \ # use rockridge extension

  directory/ # source directory

To mount the ISO image for testing [will require loopback devices to be installed into your kernel or to be availabel as a module]

mount \

   -t iso9660 \ # disk format

   -o ro,loop=/dev/loop0 \ # mount read only, use loopback device

   iso.img \  # file to mount

   /mnt/iso #�mount point 

To burn the ISO image to a DVD-R disk

cdrecord \ 

   -v \ # verbose output, help see what's going on      

   speed=2 \ # cut at double speed

   dev=0,1,0 \ # device [see CD Writing HowTo]

   -dao \ # DVD's must be written in Disk At Once mode

   -data dao.img # file to write to disk

Once the DVD is written you can mount it as you usally would [though, I've found I had to eject then re-insert the disk]

mount \

    -t iso9660 \ # disk format, this isn't necessary.

    /dev/scd1 \ # device name,

   /mnt/scd1 # mount point

ext2 DVD Recording
ext2 is a format which is used for Linux hard disks. Using it to cut a DVD means that you can store exactly the same information as used on the original system. For me this is useful as I hold a mirror of my webserver on my development server. This mirror is synchronized every night using rsync [as people upload data to my web server on a regular basis]. To keep this all intact I copy it into a file which is mounted as a loopback device, in a similar way to how I mounted the iso9660 image above.

It's worth reading this before you do a burn.

Firstly I created an empty file to be the filesystem

dd \

     if=/dev/zero \ # read input for file from /dev/zero

     of="ext2_file" \ #�output file

     bs=1024k \ # file has block size of 1024k [1 Megabyte]  

    count=4096 # file has 4096 blocks [4 Gigabytes]

Then I make an ext2 filesystem on it

mke2fs \ 

     -b 1024 \ # block size

     -F \ # Force [I shouldn't have to use this, but I do]

     ext2_file  # input file

Then I mount the ext2 filesystem

mount \ 

     -t ext2 \ # device format type

     -o rw,loop=/dev/loop0 \ # mount read/write using loopback device

     ext2_file \  # device/file name

     /mnt/ext2 # mount point

I then write to /mnt/ext2/ like it is a normal disk. Once it is set up as I need it with all the appropriate data I execute the command

cdrecord \

   -v  \ # verbose output, help see what's going on      

   speed=2 \  # cut at double speed

   dev=0,1,0 \  # device 

   -dao \ # DVD's must be written in Disk At Once mode

   -data ext2_file # file to write to disk

And away she goes!

Anyway, I've just written all this as I reckon someone else out there may be trying to do this, and one of these bits might just help you sort it out a bit quicker than I did. It's not hugely complex, provided you are happy playing around. A good idea is to try everything then run the cdrecord command with the -dummy option in before the -data option, which will do a test burn.

Posted by Dorian Moore on Saturday, January 19, 2002 at 00:00 GMT
Last modified Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:22 GMT

Don't go near them, their service is terrible.

XO communications., network outages, lack of contact, and the ability not to understand what the customer wants, and giving false information about quality of service.

This is a bit of a rant, but it's also being placed here in the hope that anybody who is contemplating using XO communications as their ISP doesn't. I'm a small customer, but that doesn't mean they can treat me like shit.

Here are my issues:

The service I was sold is not what I requested. I asked for a service where I was provided with a transfer or 20GB/month, on a connection which could burst up to 10Mbps for people on fast connections, as I was providing streaming media. What I got was a 128Kbps rate-limited system, which allowed for about 3 seconds of bursting. This is not suitable for multiple streams, or [for instance] supporting responses to email shots, where server activity is high for a short response period. If I had wanted a 128k line I would not have co-located a server...

When I complained about this issue and told them that the rate limiting was affecting users they said they would see if they could find a suitable solution, but I would have to pay. They did not act on the complaint, they just tried to sell me more. They offered me a 256kbps connection with the same level of bursting, which makes next to no difference for users on fast connections. [The faster connection only allows the same amount of burst, and because of the bit bucket XO are using, once the bucket is emptied, I have to wait for a quiet period before the burst is available again... but of course, I don't need the burst then]

Their sales people refused to try and work out any further arrangement, or be adaptable at all, but also weren't able to accept that the solutions they had offered were not suitable to fulfill my requirements. The sales person also told me that a competing ISP's service was not up to theirs, even though I had installed a system at the competitions and tested it.

Further, during the time I have been with them they have failed to report several network outages, and when they have reported them details have been week or missed out. One outage was failed to be reported to me during a conversation when I was trying to find out why my server had shutdown at an unusual time : it appears they had cut the power to the server... it took 16 hours for them to report an outage, and a further 4 days until I got an explanation of what the outage was. All this meant I spent time looking for a security compromise on my server.

They're technical people have failed to contact me, and the staff I have spoken to have limited knowledge of networking or service other than that of simple M$ style coursework.

I've been told that they have tried to contact me via phone but that my phone number was no longer in service. It's a mobile, it's always on, and there is voicemail. My Telephone company confirmed no faults each time XO technicians have tried to contact me, and there we're no attempted calls.

They're routing has failed on several occasions : when I informed them of this, and sent them traceroute information, they told me that my firewall was blocking ICMP packets. I don't have a firewall, and if I was blocking ICMP packets I would know about it, and none of the traceroutes would have run. When I explained this to them they sent another message telling me it was because my firewall was bouncing ICMP packets. 40 minutes after my complaint the routes magically started working...

They have removed connectivity on several occasions due to Denial of Service attacks to other customers, as opposed to blocking the source at their routers, leading to outages of up to 45 minutes. They seem no to have 24 hour support for some network issues, a there is a lag time on monitoring and response which shouldn't be there for a quality ISP.

I rest my case. There are a lot of good ISP's out there, XO communications are, in my opinion, not one of them. Keep away. Very far away.

This is my opinion on the service that XO have provided by me, and is to serve as a recomendation to any other people who may consider using them.

Posted by Dorian Moore on Monday, November 12, 2001 at 00:00 GMT
Last modified Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:22 GMT

Woooh! We won a prize

Chris McGrail, Dorian Moore, Dan Sayers/ Kleber (UK): "Warp Records" www.warprecords.com

The web site for "Warp Records", one of the most innovative record labels in the electronic music scene, is striking because of its style-setting design and a specially developed, efficient online shopping system, which enables the independent label to distribute its products at low cost.

[From : //http://prixars.aec.at/2001/prix.asp]

At last, recognition for all the work that went into the warp site...

My contribution:
Information Architecture
Content Management System
Shopping System
Order Management System
Scripting and coding in general
Looking after the server configuration

and all that that entails. It doesn't soud much, but it's hard to make a site look that smooth :)

Posted by Dorian Moore on Monday, September 17, 2001 at 00:00 GMT
Last modified Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:22 GMT

How to analyse logfiles from a RealServer

Having been running various server for RealAudio provision over the last few years I've never really kept an eye on the logfiles, primarily because I didn't want to install Java for the progressive networks log file analyse. However having set up PostEverything I wanted to check what the usage for the RealMedia files was ... so I installed Analog and configured it using the following LOGFORMAT line

LOGFORMAT (%s - - [%d/%M/%Y:%h:%n:%j %j]%w"%j %r %j" %c %b %j %j %j %j)

So, why am I sharing this with you? Because I spent time looking for this information and couldn't find it. I knew it was possible, but awkward: there is an extra space between the date and the request line, which doesn't exist in standard log files, which makes this a little bit unobvious.

Hopefully this will help somebody, someday.

Posted by Dorian Moore on Thursday, August 9, 2001 at 00:00 GMT
Last modified Thursday, October 20, 2005 at 20:22 GMT

A bit more than an on-line shop

http://www.posteverything.com Goes live

At last, the first part of the long awaited [by who, we ask ourselves] PostEverything.com goes alive. Yes, it's a .com, but with a difference... it's bringing together some excellent music and making it available over the web cheaper than anywhere else, but increasing the money which goes back to the labels and, more importantly, the artists who produce the music.

How do we do this, you ask. Well, if we told you.... you'd never believe us. So check it out.

Tags : e-commerce music, website,
Posted by Dorian Moore on Wednesday, July 25, 2001 at 23:00 GMT
Last modified Wednesday, April 12, 2006 at 15:56 GMT

where i [used to] work

the company i dedicated most of my life to for 3 years.

Update I no longer work at Kleber, or am involved in it. But they are still bloody good people!

Kleber n. German. Glue, gluten, adhesive.

Chris McGrail and Dorian Moore first worked together at the legendary web design collective Obsolete. As that company slowly unravelled during 1996, McGrail and Moore stuck together, working on designs for a varied roster of individual musicians and small record companies. Sharing an in-depth knowledge of the technical side of the web and a clearly defined sense of the aesthetic imperatives of new media, they set up on their own in early 1997.

Kleber has always been about finding the most innovative and creative ways of dealing with their clients' needs. It has expanded quickly in terms of staff-numbers, but remains dedicated to personal contact and working with, rather than for, clients. It�s important that everyone connected with each project is happy with the final result. Putting the client first, and developing close hands-on relationships and a detailed understanding of needs, means that Kleber can produce the best possible work, whether the client is a small independent record label or a major international artist.

Kleber remains a company that's highly flexible and instinctively creative. It�s grown to be more than simply a web company, acting now as a provider of complete design solutions in both practical and conceptual terms. Recent work has ranged from album sleeves to on-line shopping systems; from screen savers to CD-ROM based games, with some video production thrown in for good measure. And McGrail and Moore still find time to create music and DJ in their spare time!

In the past Kleber have worked on projects with advertising companies such as BBH and Saatchi & Saatchi to produce campaigns for Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, Columbia Tristar, The Financial Times, Money Extra, Lotus, Capital FM and many more. However times change and the need to use advertising work to pay the bills have been forgotten, with Kleber deciding to dedicate themselves to their clients in the music industry as they have grown to realise the impact of the internet.

Currently Kleber are working with Warp Records, Ninja Tune, Post Everything, Creation Records, Sony Music [Epic, Higher Ground, Disco Volante, S2], Pressure Sounds, Echo Records, WEA, Hydrogen Dukebox, The Undertones, Kylie Minogue [Polydor], The Creatures and The Designers Republic.

Tags : web
Posted by Dorian Moore on Thursday, April 20, 2000 at 00:00 GMT
Last modified Wednesday, April 12, 2006 at 15:56 GMT