jastram.de Blog - Web

Juhu - JMStV ist gescheitert!

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:01:33 -0500

Die Novellierung des JMStV (Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrags) ist undurchsetzbarer Schwachsinn - und ist jetzt zum Glück gescheitert. Die vorgeschriebenen Maßnahmen sind überhaupt nicht umsetzbar. Das einzige, was dieses Gesetz produziert hätte, wäre eine weitere Abmahnwelle, von der nur skrupellose Anwälte profitieren würden.

Major annoyance: Web sites that detect your language by IP address

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 19:18:47 -0400

Why is it that nobody cares about the fact that web browsers can send the preferred locale to a web server?

I like Google, but the way they handle this is just horrible. Yes, there are workarounds, but I don't need a web site detecting what language I am interested in.

The latest site with this habit that I noticed is IMDB: Browsing it in Germany leads to the comical situation where the site content is in English but the Movie Titles are in English. This doesn't make ANY sense. Yes, there is a workaround too (create an account, set the language in the settings), but this is just stupid.

The sad thing is that this won't improve any time soon.

Bad Experience with Afian File Manager

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 21:20:28 -0400

I recently installed the Afian File Manager for a customer. All they needed was a simple way for safely sharing large files with customers. There are plenty of web file managers available (free and commercial), but surprisingly few support uploads beyond what the web server allows. Afian was one of them.

Turns out they realized the big file upload with a Java Applet that chops the file into small chunks that are sent one by one and then reassembled by a PHP-Script on the back end. So far so good. It worked in their life demo, but it didn't work on our server. The difference? We used SSL. I didn't consider this an issue, as the Q&A page stated:

"Does it work with SSL?

Yes, you can use it with SSL, and there's no configuration
involved. It's just a matter of running Afian under a https (secure
http) address. Our personal opinion is that this method would be a bit
excessive. But we all know that it puts people at ease about security..."

When I contacted tech support, they told me that the Applet-Upload doesn't work with SSL. What the... didn't I just read something else? So I revisited their Q&A page, which now read:

"Does it work with SSL?

Yes, you can use it with SSL, and there's no configuration
involved. It's just a matter of running Afian under a https (secure
http) address. The drag&drop upload method however, will still be
using HTTP."

In fact, they changed this within minutes of my support question regarding SSL. But fortunately, the Google Cache still held the original text.

Afian has a strict refund policy (something that actually made me nervous before the purchase). But I thought okay, let's give them the benefit of a doubt. So I requested a refund without mentioning the Google cache page. Had they just refunded the money, then I wouldn't have written this blog entry. Instead I got this:

"Please review the agreed refund policy: http://www.afian.com/refund-policy

We did not claim that the drag&drop upload feature works
over HTTPS."

After I pointed out that the feature was offered at the time of purchase (proving it with the Google Cache link), they withdrew and issued the refund.

But this left a sour aftertaste, that is just no way to treat customers. They are free to do business as they see fit - even though changing the web site for not having to issue a refund is borderline, to say the least. But ultimately they are hurting themselves. With a little more generosity, they may trigger positive blog entries. And let's face it, with a product like this, positive reviews are by far the best marketing - and bad reviews are poison.

The Hunt for Gollum

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:08:31 -0400

This weekend an amazing film got released: The Hunt for Gollum, a side plot from the Lord of the Rings. Watch it for free online. This movie shows how the whole can be so much more than the sum of the parts, and that the Internet is an amazing enabler. Enjoy.

Web Site Redesign is complete

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 10:27:33 -0400

Finally I got to redesigning my web site. I was really unhappy with it: What I had the last few years was okay, with a hand-build Blogging System. But then I did an half-ass switch to Serendipity that I never completed, and when I was job-hunting in Germany I did another redesign to make the site look more professional (which didn't really succeed). So finally, here is the new look. I hope you like it.

The power of the media

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 23:06:00 -0400

I found this really disturbing site on media manipulation while looking for a site to test my Trackback functionality.

WebDAV with Windows XP

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 18:44:36 -0400

So I finally found some time to configure Apache for WebDAV. This wasn't too bad. But then I also had to configure authentication. This is just a playground (at least for now), so picked basic authentication. But I was in for a nasty surprise: There was a serious problem with Windows XP. I run only Windows at home, but my brother uses XP, and he needs this feature.

Continue reading "WebDAV with Windows XP"

EU-Domain-Craze

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 23:07:22 -0400

.eu Domains are now up for grabs! So I thought I'd pick up jastram.eu - but it was already gone. Dammit! Oh well, saved some money.

Picking a Web CMS

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Sat, 28 Jan 2006 23:38:40 -0500

I know that I'll need such a study again one day. Here's an article on selecting an open-source CMS and here the Slashdot discussion that has a number of good links, too.

Which Blog System?

micky@alum.mit.edu (Michael Jastram) — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 17:39:11 -0500

For several years I've been running my own Blog software - but as I wanted to have more and more features, I realized that adding these features wasn't justified any more, so I shopped around for other solutions. The winner is Serendipity.