CloudDeck HQ

I’ve build CloudDeck on Adobe’s AIR platform. Here I’ll summarize the ups and downs of this choice and why I still think it is a good solution to cross platform development. 

When I had to choose what technology I’ll use to create my music player project there were some solutions around, but AIR had it all what it takes to win my decision:

1. Good documentation
2. Developer community
3. A solid name behind it
4. Using my existing skills
5. Debugging

AIR is basically the Flash API extended with operating system level capabilities. You can create applications written in AS3, a solid object oriented, strongly typed programming language, OR you can use HTML + JavaScript, which can access the AS3 API. This was my unique selling point.

The second thing I checked was the documentation. It is a must have to pick a solution. If I have to solve a problem with it and can’t get help and the docs sucks, then I’ll be busted. At the time, AIR had the most detailed docs.

I also had to make sure that AIR is not a hobby project that will be shut down it two months after launch. Luckily Adobe has seen the power in it too, and they keep improving it.

Debugging is also an important point of view. AIR provides an “Application introspector”, which allows you to explore object, call methods, mess with CSS and HTML, so you don’t have to relaunch the app on every change. Not as powerful as Chrome’s developer tools, but quite handy. 

(WebKit’s CSS3 support is good, I achieved a lot with it’s aid)

Some downs.

With great flexibility comes some trade-offs, and AIR is no different, to be fair. You have to keep in mind various things, like Mac people are used to different ways of dealing with applications than Windows people. You have to put the window controls to the left and closing the app should in fact minimize it.
So my advice is that don’t be blind, talk to people, who user your application on different operating systems. 

Then there are lacking features, like global hotkey handling, which would be nice and in fact it would be solvable, but I have more important things on my task list. 

How far can I go with AIR? 

For the desktop app, I’ll keep AIR for a long time, because it will handle the improvements I plan for CloudDeck. You can expect a Spotlight tab enhancement, maybe a collaborative surface, where the users can interact with each other. It is not AIR that I worry about :)

What I’d like to see is that how well AIR plays with a SmartTV. This is the only moment I feel the pain of not having a TV set at home. Should I run buy one?

I’m not a DJ, but what I know about DJ-s is that their space is very crowded and they have to differentiate themselves to step out of the crowd. Take this post as my random flow of thoughts, I’m not here to tell the world the absolute truth. 

How can a DJ be different? People perceive two things. What they see and what they hear. I’ll like to focus on the latter, this is not a fashion blog :)

In the old days - not so long ago - vinyl was the king. There were no other options, so DJ-s had to go to record stores, to select and update their repertoire to keep relevant. It was a laborious task, which included lots of travelling and effort. Things changed with the digital revolution whether you like it or not. 

In 2008 SoundCloud opened its gates and focused on the producers of the music industry. They made sending, sharing and receiving audio very easy in an aesthetic manner. Music bloggers also liked it, because they could access a vast quantity of unique and fresh music. This has led to a beautiful symbiosis and feedback loop: trends shape the music and music shape the trends. 

CloudDeck comes into the picture when DJ-s need to find something interesting on SoundCloud. Sure, there are lots of good and quality content, but finding them is not always easy.

By analyzing music blogs they are able to find new and interesting pieces of music that are blogged about. My application makes them easy to categorize the newly discovered tracks, create a collection of labels in the artist gallery, or explore the groups of SoundCloud.

Finding a perfect match for tonight’s DJ set is still a laborious task, but CloudDeck makes it as easy as it could be. 

Please feel free to share your thoughts. 

Hello there. There is a problem with SoundCloud’s Facebook connect. To solve this problem is beyond my limits, but I’ve found a simple workaround:

On the top black line, there is a [f] icon that enables you to share a track on Facebook. Log in there to Facebook, then close the sharing window. You are now logged in to Facebook and try the SoundCloud login with Facebook connect. If it fails, try to connect again. I’ve reported this issue to SoundCloud I hope they fix it soon.

Can you imagine a better timing? You launch your product get up next day to check the stats and refresh your recommendation service but it… hmm, doesn’t work. Crap, what’s going on? I checked the console and it was down too. My first thought was that who the hell linked to my site that crashed my server? What a naive guess, I didn’t believe in it for a moment, but It would have been nice :)

It wasn’t the case as it turned out, the reality is harsher. It is my datacenter, again. Slicehost. After more than half a day downtime a couple of weeks ago, somewhere in their infrastructure something broke again. 

I’m going to look for a more stable provider.

EDIT: issue resolved. Next week will be about finding my new host.

I’ve decided two years ago to build something cool that can keep me busy for a longer period of time. Now I’m still here to write about that idea. This is a good sign :) The stuff is now ready khmm to be more precise it will never be ready, but it reached the Beta stage. A great milestone I sometimes thought I would never reach, but here it is. 

So, this post is about the launch. On the first workday of the year, I submitted my resignation at RebelRouse where I had worked at as a UX designer and lead developer. The job was fun for a time but I drifted away more and more until I reached a point (the point of no return) where I found no joy in working on ad projects. I felt that as a sign to quit. If you find no passion or joy in your work you should change something, because it won’t make you happy. My choice was a radical one: quit and work on CloudDeck pushing the paddle to the metal. 

This is the first day at my new ‘office’. I really can’t work from home so I picked the MyCorporation co-working space in Budapest. From an outsiders point of view the place looks inspiring and vibrant. I need to test them, so let the first trial month begin.