Random Gilmore

Do you want to watch a random episode of Gilmore Girls, but can’t decide which of the 157 episodes to go with? Do you want to jump in for a few episodes without starting a full watch through? If this is the case I now have a website to solve this problem for you. (If this isn’t the case, then I am sorry but this will be of zero benefit to you).

Simply go to ebscer.com/randomgilmore and an episode of the show will be randomly selected for you to watch. Then just tap the screen and Netflix will automatically start playing the selected episode.

from news.ebscer.com

Weather Beautiful app updated

The Weather Beautiful app has been updated to version 2.5 for Android phones. The free app can be downloaded from either Google Play or the Amazon app store.

This update reduces the app’s install size, fixes an issue where the background images didn’t always show, and also ensures compatibility with the latest versions of Android.

About Weather Beautiful

Weather Beautiful is a simple weather app that displays stunning photography of your surrounding area. In addition to the current temperature and weather conditions, the app also allows you to scroll for a full weekly forecast. While temperatures are shown in Fahrenheit by default, there is an option to switch to Celsius.

Links & Information

• Weather Beautiful at Google Play
• Weather Beautiful for Windows 10
• Weather Beautiful for iOS
• Weather Beautiful for BlackBerry
• Weather Beautiful at Amazon
• Weather Beautiful Website
• Weather Beautiful RSS feed
• Ebscer on Twitter

from news.ebscer.com

Erie Canal app updated for Android

With the New York State canal system set to open next month, the Android apps for the Erie, Oswego, Champlain, and Cayuga-Seneca Canals have all been updated to version 2.0 in the Google Play and Amazon app stores.

These apps have been rewritten from the ground up to speed up downloads and to be compatible with the latest versions of Android.

These apps give you the ability to see the locations of all locks, boat launches, lift bridges, and guard gates along the canals. The primary view of the apps shows a list of all the landmarks along the canal, with their distance along the canal along with a phone number that the app can dial in order to contact the marinas, and locks on the route. In addition to this, there is also a map view that precisely shows the location of everything along the canal’s path. An options page allows you to filter out the types of landmarks that the app shows (on both the list and the map).

Links & Information

• Canal apps RSS feed
• Ebscer on Twitter

Erie Canal

• Erie Canal app at Google Play
• Erie Canal app at Amazon
• Erie Canal app for iOS
• Erie Canal app for BlackBerry
• Website for the Erie Canal app

Cayuga-Seneca Canal

• Cayuga-Seneca Canal app at Google Play
• Cayuga-Seneca Canal app at Amazon
• Cayuga-Seneca Canal app for iOS
• Cayuga-Seneca Canal app for BlackBerry
• Website for the Cayuga-Seneca Canal app

Oswego Canal

• Oswego Canal app at Google Play
• Oswego Canal app at Amazon
• Oswego Canal app for iOS
• Oswego Canal app for BlackBerry
• Website for the Oswego Canal app

Champlain Canal

• Champlain Canal app at Google Play
• Champlain Canal app at Amazon
• Champlain Canal app for iOS
• Champlain Canal app for BlackBerry
• Website for the Champlain Canal app

from news.ebscer.com

Async requests using ionic-native/http

Android has been locking down the security within chrome, making cross-origin requests far more complicated within cordova applications. As a result a good alternative to use is a native plugin such as the @ionic-native/http or cordova-plugin-advanced-http. Unfortunately, this gives you a method that is dependent upon callbacks rather than one that can be used asynchronously.

The good news is that you can fix this by wrapping the method in a promise as show below.

import {HTTP} from '@ionic-native/http'
const asyncHTTP = (url) => {
return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
HTTP.get(url, {}, {},
(response) => { resolve(response.data); },
(response) => { reject(response.error); })
})
}


from news.ebscer.com

Coding with Ligatures

A little over a month ago Daring Fireball linked to a new monospaced font with support for coding optimized ligatures. I was already using a JetBrains IDE for my primary development at work so I decided to give it a try, and one month in I am really liking it.

Some of the ligatures such as => are purely cosmetic changes, but others such as the greater or equal symbol and the less than or equal to symbol are much easier to read. The font has been designed with care to the point where even differentiating between === and == is easier with ligatures enabled. The only symbol I am not yet sold on is the one for != which is easy enough to read, but so different from how it is typed that it slows me occasionally.

Overall I finding viewing my code through these ligatures to be an improvement, and plan to keep on using them in any development environment where they are supported.

from news.ebscer.com

BlackBerry AppWorld closing in 10 days

BlackBerry App World is set to close at the end of the year, so this is the last chance to download any apps including all Ebscer apps. I had hoped to publish some last minute updates before the shut down, but apparently the option to publish updates ended a month ago without me realizing it.

To the many BlackBerry users that have supported me and my apps over the past decade, thank you.

from news.ebscer.com

Niagara Border Crossing updated for Windows 10

The Niagara Border Crossing App has been updated to version 2.0 in the Windows app store. This app shows wait times for border crossings over the Niagara River between the United States and Canada, and is also available for Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry.

Wait times are shown for all four of the bridges between Western New York and Southern Ontario. These include the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, the Rainbow Bridge, and the Peace Bridge. Separate times are shown for cars, trucks, and also for those using the Nexus lanes.

Links & Information

• Niagara Border Crossing App for Windows 10
• Niagara Border Crossing App for iOS
• Niagara Border Crossing App at Google Play
• Niagara Border Crossing App at BlackBerry World
• Niagara Border Crossing App in the Amazon App Store
• Niagara Border Crossing Website
• Niagara Border Crossing RSS feed
• Ebscer at Twitter

from news.ebscer.com

Pixelated released for iPhone

After eight years of requests, Pixelated Plus is finally available for the iPhone. This new version of the game has all the same features as the BlackBerry and Windows releases of Pixelated. A one time in-app purchase can be used to unlock all statistics and features and grid sizes in the game.

The BlackBerry 10 version of Pixelated Plus has also been updated to add make showing the number of remaining moves in a game to be optional.

About Pixelated

Pixelated is an addictive puzzle based strategy game that requires a mixture of skill and luck in order to accomplish. The object of the game is to change the colour of the squares until the entire screen is a single solid colour. Starting with the square in the upper left corner you can change the colour of the blocks in order to match that of the surrounding squares. This is done repeatedly until the entire screen is a single colour. The object of the game is to clear the screen in as few moves as possible. Under the default settings you must do so in under 22 moves in order to win. The game is controlled by the large colored blocks at the bottom of the screen.

Links & Information

• Pixelated Plus for iPhone
• Pixelated Plus for BlackBerry World
• Pixelated for BlackBerry World
• Pixelated for Windows 8
• Pixelated for Windows Phone
• Pixelated RSS feed
• Pixelated Website
• Pixelated Shapes Website
• Ebscer on Facebook
• Ebscer at Twitter

from news.ebscer.com

Use of 10.3.3 approaches 50% of BlackBerry 10 users

The launch of BlackBerry 10.3.3 remains slow, but has finally reached half of the users running BlackBerry 10 phones. Use of BlackBerry’s newest (and final) OS has reached 52.8% of Pixelated users, and 48.5% of users of the Stuff I Need app.

This data was collected by BlackBerry World for downloads of the free strategy game Pixelated and the free checklist app Stuff I Need. Data shown on the chart is from the beginning of April 2016 through the end of April 2017.

from news.ebscer.com

Update to BlackBerry 10 game Head Words

The BlackBerry 10 game Head Words has been updated to version 1.4 in BlackBerry App World. This update expands the number of items in the game’s existing categories. This is partially to account for new movies and tv shows that have been released since the last update, and partially to simply add more depth to the other categories.

About Head Words

Head Words is a native multi-player guessing game where after selecting a category, one player places the phone on their forehead while the other players give clues. With one minute to guess as many words as possible, the player can tilt the phone down for each correct answer, or tilt the phone up to pass. At the end of round a word list will show what was guessed right and wrong. The swipe down menu provides an option to turn the sound on or off.

The game includes five categories for free, and the option to purchase access to ten additional categories for a dollar each.

Links & Information

• Head Words at BlackBerry World
• Head Words News
• Head Words Website
• Ebscer at Facebook
• Ebscer at Twitter

from news.ebscer.com

More sites added to First Rule

The First Rule comment blocking app has been updated to version 1.2 for Chrome and iOS. This update adds blocking for additional websites, as well as improving the app’s load time on iOS.

About First Rule

Everyone knows that the first rule of the internet is “Do not read the comments”, yet far too many of us still get suckered into yelling at strangers on the internet. This situation isn’t good for anyone, and it would be better off if comment sections simply did not exist. The First Rule app makes this a reality, by blocking the comments on mobile (iOS) and desktop (Chrome).

Links & Information

• First Rule for iOS
• First Rule for Chrome
• First Rule Website
• First Rule RSS feed
• Ebscer on Twitter
• Ebscer on Facebook

from news.ebscer.com

Chrome Extension shows earnings estimates for YouTube videos

Video Money Count is a Chrome extension that estimates how much advertisers had spent advertising against a video. The extension simply adds the estimate below the view count on all YouTube pages.

The extension was inspired by a recent CGP Grey video that has been automatically updating the title to reflect the video’s estimated advertising spend. This extension uses that same estimation technique to approximate how much advertisers have spent against a given video.

Links & Information

• Video Money Count for Chrome
• Video Money Count Website
• Video Money Count RSS feed
• Ebscer on Twitter
• Ebscer on Facebook

from news.ebscer.com

BlackBerry 10.3.3 roll out remains slow

Adoption of the final version of BlackBerry OS remains slow, with most users still using the older 10.3.2 version. In March the use of 10.3.3 was well below half, reaching only 41.7% of Stuff I Need users, and 22.7% of Pixelated users.

This data was collected by BlackBerry World for downloads of the free strategy game Pixelated and the free checklist app Stuff I Need. Data shown on the chart is from the beginning of March 2016 through the end of March 2017.

from news.ebscer.com

Predicting the Frozen Four Results

With the college hockey season wrapping up this weekend, I am using my Elo ratings to predict the results of the final weekends games.

Harvard (which currently has its all time highest rating of 1753) is the favorite with a 30.54% chance of winning the tournament. They are followed by Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, and Notre Dame. Full odds are at ebscer.com/collegehockey/2017-ncaa-hockey2

Elo correctly predicted 10 of the 12 games in the tournament’s first weekend, and already has predictions ready for Thursday’s games.

from news.ebscer.com

Update for First Rule comment blocker app

The First Rule comment blocking application has been updated to version 1.1 in the Chrome storefront. This update adds comment blocking on an additional 150 domains, bringing the total number of websites with blocked comments to over eighteen-hundred.

About First Rule

Everyone knows that the first rule of the internet is “Do not read the comments”, yet far too many of us still get suckered into yelling at strangers on the internet. This situation isn’t good for anyone, and it would be better off if comment sections simply did not exist. The First Rule app makes this a reality, by blocking the comments on mobile (iOS) and desktop (Chrome).

Links & Information

• First Rule for Chrome
• First Rule for iOS
• First Rule Website
• First Rule RSS feed
• Ebscer on Twitter
• Ebscer on Facebook

from news.ebscer.com

10th anniversary of BlackBerry AppWorld

BlackBerry AppWorld turns ten years old today.

While the store is currently limping towards its demise at the end of the year, it is worth celebration and acknowledging the run that it has had. Ten years is a long time, and for many of those years it was at the center of my world. It was the means through which all of my hard work was distributed to tens of millions of others.

For many years it was the only way that I collected money to pay my rent.

BlackBerry has moved on from apps and phones, and quite honestly I have since moved on from BlackBerry.

But I still miss it at times. So, here is to a celebration of AppWorld’s final birthday. At the very least it was good to me…

from news.ebscer.com

New website at ericharty.com

I have recently launched a new website at ericharty.com to host some of my personal stuff, and mostly because I wanted to claim the domain. Most software projects will continue to be a part of ebscer.com.

However please check out the new site, and hopefully there will be more arriving there in the coming weeks.

from news.ebscer.com

A Little Night Juggling

Forever Running

A few weeks ago I began keeping a blog of my races at running.ebscer.com. This will be a place for me to list all of my marathons, triathlons, and smaller races.

Analyzing The Verge's The Fifty

Taking a look at The Verge's 50 people of 2013 leads to few interesting results. For instance only three of the top eight were born in the United States. Yet later on, the list takes a much more American-centric feel with 68% of the full list being born in the USA (see chart below).

Yet the list also includes a large number of odd choices. For instance the list includes Alexa O’Brien instead of Bradley Manning, Rian Johnson instead of Vince Gilligan, Tig Notaro instead of Louis CK, and Janelle Monáe over Taylor Swift (or Ella Yelich-O’Connor). Meanwhile the list is full of far too many TV writers, while the only politician is best know for using a filibuster to delay a law that was still passed two weeks later. Also considering the likes of Sheryl Sandberg, Jony Ive, and Marissa Mayer to be part of "The Old Guard" is laughably out of touch.

And why are we still talking about Pussy Riot? If you want to include a musician attacked for their beliefs it would be far more relevant to select someone like Fazıl Say.

So the list certainly has a number of glaring flaws, but it is certainly interesting who The Verge finds worth writing about especially as this tech site choose to exclude the likes of Tim Cook, Lee Kun-hee, and Alex Kipman.

Sabres pick odd time to remove Darcy

After 17 years as GM, Darcy Regier has not been too popular in Buffalo over the last few seasons, and probably should have been released a while ago. That said, the fact that he was fired last night makes no sense at all, and is some rather terrible timing. Regier's weakness as a GM, has been his inability to keep talented players in Buffalo (Drury, Pominville) and his overpaying of ineffective players (Leino). His strength, on the other hand is his ability to draft well (Vanek, Myers, Miller).

Given the team's current position of having almost no veterans left to resign and a whole pile of great draft picks to use, the timing to remove Darcy now is a bit unfortunate. Long term it is the right move, but had it been up to me I would have kept him around for one more summer...

Best Movies of 2011

1. I Am Number Four - Based on a book that I didn't read, but I am eagerly anticipating the sequal


2. Super 8 - Can't go wrong with Abrams and Spielberg. Like a cross between Cloverfield and ET (but better)


3. Limitless - A very cool movie, with a very cool ending


4. Thor - Despite being a comic book adaption, it is actually pretty good


5. Win Win - A more obscure film, but good. It has been 7 years since I was on the wrestling team myself

Where I was in October

Where I spent the month of October by city. Units are in days, with the city for each day determined by where I ate dinner.

Rochester lead with 58% of my days in the month. San Fransisco was second with 13%, while Seattle and Buffalo were tied for third place with 3 days each.

Open letter to Switchfoot

Hey Switchfoot,

Thanks for mailing your new album Vice Verses to me. The songs (as always) are awesome. But I do have one complaint.

That would be the 25 minutes that it took me to actually get the CD out of the packaging. Was the album worth the wait? Definitely. But that doesn't explain why it was harder to get into then a bottle of prescription drugs. Is a tamper proof seal really necessary? Even thought the majority of the text on the actual CD is boiler plate legalese, Vice Verses is not in fact actually a controlled substance.

I understand that this is actually supposed to be in place for theft deterrent, but given that I pre-paid for the album, and you then shipped it directly to my house, I am a little fuzzy on where along the way you expected the disk to get jacked. Never mind that someone could still just swipe the whole package, sure it would have resulted in the thief being frustrated (as I was), but I am not sure how that would have helped you or me. Even if this was being stocked in a store, and someone wanted the contents of the CD without having to pay, there are far easier ways to do that which do not even require you to leave your house.

So again, thanks for a great album. The songs are solid from the start to the end (especially that last song). But next time could you give me the chance to buy the album in a way that I can open it without almost stabbing myself?

The Past year of BlackBerry OS usage

Originally posted at news.ebscer.com

The number of BlackBerry phones running OS 6.0 has increased to 25.2% of the market last month. While 84.0% of BlackBerrys now run OS 5.0 or higher.

Eight months after the release of OS 5.0 it had already captured over twice the market, while OS 6.0 is only doing half as well at the eight month mark. Overall adoption of the newer OS is mostly being held back by the limited number of upgrades from devices that originally were released with 5.0 operating systems. Given the lack of an upgrade path, it would be expected to see a similarly slow uptake of OS 7.0 when it is released this summer. (Although 7.0 will be helped some by being available on all the major US carriers at launch).

As usual this data is taken from downloads of the popular BlackBerry strategy game Pixelated. Data starts from the release of version 2.0 in April of 2010, and goes through the end of last month.

The making of a Salad

BroccoliCeleryEdamameJalapenoGreen Bell PepperAll of the Green ingredientsCarrotsOnionParmigiano-Reggiano cheeseAppleBlack PepperDried Red Bell Pepper and GarlicCheddar CheeseCroutonsFull Salad

BlackBerry Statistics

All BlackBerry related posts are still being posted at news.ebscer.com including those on related to BlackBerry OS Statistics.

In particular a recent article showed the changes in BlackBerry OS usage over time. The main chart for this is posted below.

news.ebscer.com

All BlackBerry related news posts are now at news.ebscer.com and will no longer be showing up here. Recent articles include:

• BlackBerry, the first choice game platform?
• What am I currently working on?
• Is the BlackBerry Pearl already dead?
• BlackBerry Torch off to a solid start
• Pixelated surpasses 1500 reviews
• OS5.0 upgrade rates

Thank you to everyone for your support and please continue to follow all BlackBerry related developments at news.ebscer.com

Pixelated Plus 2.3 adds new features

Pixelated Plus has now been updated in BlackBerry AppWorld to version 2.3. Pixelated Plus is the most popular Strategy game in BlackBerry AppWorld, and now adds a number of brand new features.

Alternate Colour Schemes

Version 2.3 of Pixelated introduces alternate colour schemes to mix up the appearance of the game. Besides the standard colour scheme that has been available all along, there is now also the possibility of selecting a pastel theme, an "other" theme (pictured above), a Black & White theme, as well as all red, and all blue themes.

Replay Games

A new feature exclusive to the Plus version of Pixelated is the ability to replay games. Now following the conclusion of a game (win or loss), along with seeing the outcome of the previous game, an opportunity to replay the same layout over again will be presented. This will allow you to take another try at a screen that you are unable to beat, or to try and get a better score then you just posted.

Clear Statistics

Inside the statistics, best scores, and achievements pages there is now a menu option to clear all statistics, best scores, and achievements that you have earned so far. Be careful, however, because this can not be undone.

BlackBerry Torch Support

Pixelated Plus version 2.3 supports the brand new BlackBerry Torch 9800. On the Torch Pixelated can be played by both the touch screen and the trackpad. The soon to be released BlackBerry Curve 9300 will also be supported.

Pixelated Plus requires a minimum of OS 4.6 considering that is met the 8330, 8350i, 8520, 8530, 8900, 8910, 9000, 9100, 9105, 9500, 9520, 9530, 9550, 9630, 9650, 9700, and 9800 are all supported.

Links

• Pixelated Plus at BlackBerry AppWorld
• Pixelated Plus news site
• Pixelated Plus Website