yeswaystudios.com Re-Launch

Launched a new version of the Yes Way Studios site today. Check it out.

Distant Mountain Productions

I do have a bit of quick news to post regarding a new business venture: Distant Mountain Productions. For some time now, I have been interested in creating television shows for digital distribution. I think video content on demand will continue to grow and may some day be the preferred means of information and entertainment.

DMP is focused on providing this type of content but with a twist. I want to produce shows that are thought-provoking and compassionate, in the spirit of On Surfari.

Check out the temporary site and sign up if you are interested in learning more.

What Hapened to March? Well, We're Moving

March is long gone, and April too, and still I haven't posted! Well, we're moving. To South America. Yes, that's right. We leave on May 10th for Uruguay. I will be continuing with the work that I do now -- I already work from home, so as long as I have Internet access, I'm good to go.

Why you might ask? Well, there are a lot of personal reasons; temperate, sub-tropical climate, access to fresh food, walks on the beach, and more. But I know this wouldn't be possible without the Lord providing the way, so I know we are going for a reason.

We are excited to make the move, but there has been a LOT to do over the last 8 weeks, and it has been enough just to keep up with work as well as packing. I have a number of articles waiting in the wings, so once things get back to normal, I will be happy to post again from a new country and new adventure.

It's Been a While

Wow, it's been a while since I have posted anything new! I've started several articles, but it's been pretty busy here. Been There was rejected a second time due to private API usage. Brandable FTP (now Custom FTP) hasn't quite stalled, but I decided to add SFTP support which has added time to the project. i've also been switching my projects and todos over the ActiveCollab. More on that later.

Otherwise, I'm caught up in billable work -- which is a good thing even if it takes time away from the extra projects. Hopefully, I will be able to post again soon.

Error Handling Errors

I fixed a problem today where custom blog software had stopped working after a permissions update. A large number of sites are based upon the blog software and they were all down. Blank page. No errors on screen or in the logs.

This was not software and I came in knowing nothing about it. It might've helped that I do know the developer, but he was offline and unreachable, and no longer with the company for which the software was created. Panic was setting in with customer service.

It's really frustrating when error reporting is turned completely off and no other error handling has been implemented. I knew the problem must be permissions related but there was just no clue as to what file was failing to write. I also knew the application was Zend Framework, which I've been working with for about a year or so. A quick change to the application.ini ...

phpSettings.display_errors = 1

phpSettings.error_reporting = 1

... and I was to see the error and correct the permissions.

This brings to mind: The Log File is Your Friend. Frameworks or applications that implement their own error handling need to also find a way of silently indicating the problem. In this case, it could be done in a custom manner using Zend_Log or by adding log_errors to the php.ini file or to application.ini, like so:

phpSettings.error_reporting = 1024

phpSettings.log_errors = 1

Xcode Compile Stops at MainWindow.xib?

And Interface Builder starts up in the background but then stops responding? Have you recently changed your OS? Bought a nice, refurb iMac running Snow Leopard and transferred Xcode from an older machine running Leopard?

Me too.

It took me a long time to find the answer.

You need to get the iPhone SDK for Snow Leopard. Oh, and incidentally, there is a hint on the Apple Developer site (behind the login) because there are "Snow Leopard Downloads". Obviously I don't log in there every day, either.

Just Submitted Been There Again

I'm happy to report I've re-submitted Been There, our iPhone app for sharing your favorite places with friends and family. Here's hoping for the best!

Been There Again

My last post on our iPhone app was dismal indeed, but the "friend of a friend" approach has paid off sooner than expected and I now have a repaired version of the app! Now if I can just get this sign cert figured out ...

Been There Left in the Lurch

Our Been There iPhone application got caught up in the OS changes where some network issue causes a crash. Nevermind that I can't make it crash, but someone at Apple did and reject the submission. The original developer wanted me to pay quite a bit more money to fix the issue and needless to say that didn't sit too well with me, so I asked around and found a friend of a friend that agreed to help out.

I'm hoping to find and fix the bug and resubmit the app this month. We'll see.

Bogeymin Again

Wow, it's been a long time since I gave an update on this project -- because it's been a long time since I've actually worked on it. Yes, everything I didn't want to happen with this project happened and it got pushed to the side. However, in an attempt to redeem myself, I have rescheduled the remaining work for January.

Sign up to be notified when it's ready at bogeymin.com