UploadScreenshot.com Growth, 4x
Further to my last post regarding UploadScreenshot.com usage, the site has continued to grow. The number of people viewing the images, number of image loads, and number of websites displaying screenshots have all quadrupled.
8/16/2010
~60,000 image loads per day, ~38,000 unique people per day, ~1,129 unique websites per day
4/20/2010
~15,000 image loads per day, ~9,000 unique people per day, ~220 unique websites per day
Below is a screenshot of the latest data (8/16/2010) click on it to view the full sized version!
UploadScreenshot.com Stats
I implemented a custom stats tracking feature on UploadScreenshot.com a couple of months which allows me to track image load data, even without pageviews. The system works by loading each image dynamically and updating a database with the relevant information.
Below is a screenshot of the current site stats, click on it to enlarge it. It shows approximately 15,000 image loads per day, viewed by ~9,000 unique people, across ~220 unique websites.
The site also received a bit of love in the design department in the last couple of weeks, with some CSS clean up and a new logo.
Update April 23rd, 2010:
Google Fiber, Hoping It Comes To Austin
I'm really hoping that Google Fiber will come to Austin, TX. It looks like we certainly had a lot of people contact Google to express their interest.
Bandwidth in Austin is disproportionately more expensive than Dallas and Houston which have some of the cheapest bandwidth in the country because they are very well connected cities.
I'd love to setup a new build office block here in Austin which offered bandwidth to small businesses at affordable prices. Lots of small companies like mine need to upload and download the occasional 5 gig file and it takes hours on the overpriced cable connection.
Multi WAN Balancing Made Simple With ClearOS
I've been looking for a way to balance multiple WAN links easily for a while now and believe I've found the solution; ClearOS.
The recently released OS based on the works by ClarkConnect, appears to make WAN balancing a snap: http://www.clearfoundation.com/docs/user_guide/clearos_enterprise_5.1/multi-wan.
Obviously WAN balancing two connections will not double the download speed for a single file transfer through a single connection, but by using a download manager which makes multiple connections, or by using P2P, you can effectively download a single file at 2*XYZmbit/sec by balancing two XYZmbit WAN connections.
I'll test it out and report back.
Dell PowerConnect 5424 Photos, PDF Manual
Our Dell PowerConnect 5424 switch arrived at the office today, we're going to be testing the throughput capabilities for possible data center use. Below are some photos of the switch.
You can download the PowerConnect 5424 user manual here: 54xx_ug-dell-switch.pdf
70-300mm Lens for Nikon D60
I just received my Nikkor AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G IF-ED lens which I purchased from Amazon ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000HJPK2C/ref=ox_ya_oh_product ). "Nikkor" is the brand name for lenses made by Nikon.
The lens has the motorized auto focus and the vibration reduction features which make it far superior to some of the other lenses available. It fits on my Nikon D60 without the use of any adaptor rings or other equipment needed.
Below are the pictures of the new lens compared to the 18-55mm lens that came with the D60 camera. As you can see the 70-300mm lens is extremely large, but I don't find it to be too heavy.
HDR-CX11E Unboxing
Below is a video of me unboxing the new HDR-CX11E, the European (PAL) version of the HDR-CX12. It is Sony's latest full HD record to memory stick camcorder. The unit is also capable of taking 10.2 megapixel photos.
The camera comes with standard component cables, HD component cables, a USB 2.0 connection and charging dock, battery, power brick, software, and remote. No HDMI cable is included, but the camera does have a mini HDMI output.
There is a £50 rebate available for UK purchases until the 28th of August: http://media.sony-europe.com/uk/leaflets/209513SonyHandycamA5_4ppleaflet.pdf
I've uploaded some photos taken with the camera here: http://www.putpic.com/gallery/2144/6883142
Roomba 560 Robot Vacuum Cleaner
After seeing an Engadget article about a Roomba Pacman hack I was fascinated by the idea of a robot vacuum.Being skeptical; I searched for reviews and the Wikipedia page for the Roomba for more information about how well these things actually clean. I found lots of praising videos on youtube , which combined with the information on Wikipedia that the 560 is the fifth generation of Roomba convinced me to order one.
A few things to note about the Roomba 560:
- has IR sensors in the front bumper which allow it to slow down before bumping into any furniture.
- carefully navigates around the top of stairs without falling down them (not shown in the video).
- has an on-board scheduler and auto docking system so that it can clean and then recharge itself on a programmed basis without any interaction.
- will clean for about 60 minutes each cleaning cycle.
- using the included lighthouses you can block it from entering a certain room, or set it to clean one room fully before automatically going to clean the next room.
My Roomba arrived this morning. Below is a video of a quick run around my living room and entrance hall, at the end of the video I cut the cleaning cycle short to demonstrate the auto docking system.
You may also download a high quality .wmv version of the video here (147MB).
Higher Video Quality for YouTube Arrives
YouTube appear to be rolling out an option allowing users to watch videos in higher quality than before (example).
Not all source videos uploaded will be high quality/definition (cell phone video etc), but it appears that when a high quality video is uploaded to YouTube several conversions are now being made. This allows users with fast internet connections to watch the high quality version.
Sites, such as Putfile, that have had high quality video streaming functionality (example) for over a year have now lost an edge over YouTube which previously swayed some users to register on their site rather than YouTube.
With YouTube providing free high quality video streaming, revenue sharing, groups, and various other features; the days of UGC video sites popping up quickly or established non-niche sites even surviving are surely numbered.
Yahoo Mail, a Cesspit of Spam
Need I say more? Yahoo mail doesn't seem to be able to filter out the spam very well at all. Perhaps Yahoo thinks that I might benefit from various drugs and a few Nigerian 419 scams.
If you're not using gmail yet then you should be. I have been using gmail for about a year now and have not had any spam get through to my inbox, nor have I had any emails incorrectly marked as spam.
