Where to store <1GB of files

LateSky · September 15, 2009

Hello,

Can anyone suggest where on the Internet that I might be able to store less than about 1GB of data, in the form of .pdf and video files such that they are not supported by Smugmug?

The files need to be accessible from my Smugmug Pro site via HTML links that I would create there and small JavaScript and HTML files (required to run my video files) need to be supported (eg, not "stripped" out, as Google Sites would). And, of course, I'd like it to be free! :lol3

The domain name I am using as the custom hostname for my Smugmug site is registered with GoDaddy.com. GoDaddy provides 10GB of free web storage associated with the domain, but I'm apparently not able to link to files stored there because the DNS settings have been modified to re-route the domain for use as a Smugmug custom hostname: http://www.smugmug.com/help/professional-accounts.

GoDaddy also has the annoying practice of including bnner ads in the browser window showing files linked to from their free hosting service (currently only IE and not FireFox, as far as I can tell).

Currently, the best lesser-of-all-evils solution for me appears to be to purchase another domain with GoDaddy, or the GoDaddy-Smugmug partnership, Smugmugdomains.com, which both off offer relatively low-cost domain registration and web-hosting fees. The estimated cost to me would currently be about $5 - $7 per month.

However, I am investigating information that GoDaddy (and hence also Smugmugdomains, I would wager) allows data storage only for websites running under their hosting service. Perhaps they wouldn't care about the relatively small amount of data that I would be storing, or perhaps there's a special contingency for Smugmug users because of their partnership.

So, any suggestions on any or all of this would be appreciated...:ear

Thanks.

-- sc

jfriend · September 15, 2009

I would think that you could sets up a sub-domain of your main domain at GoDaddy (like files.latesky.com) that would work with your GoDaddy hosted storage and that is exactly what the GoDaddy hosting is for so it should be permitted.

Andy · September 15, 2009

Dropbox.
https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTQ4NjQ1MTk

it's free for 2gb.

LateSky · September 15, 2009

jfriend wrote:

I would think that you could sets up a sub-domain of your main domain (like files.latesky.com) that would work with your GoDaddy hosted storage and that is exactly what the GoDaddy hosting is for so it should be permitted.

Great suggestion! One WOULD think the solution would be as straight-forward as you say. Unfortunately, that's not what I have so far found.

I've recently been spending hours and hours on this, between my own tinkering and swapping email messages with various menbers of the GoDaddy support team. They seem to me to have an aversion for fully addressing GoDaddy-related problems that are not 100% GoDaddy-specific. Frankly, I wish that Smugmug had chosen a domain-hosting partner with better customer-service appreciation (and without that sexist "GoDaddy Girl" marketing ploy).

Currently, GoDaddy support tells me that with the DNS setting for my domain configured to re-route to Smugmug as a custom hostname (see:
http://wiki.smugmug.net/display/SmugMug/GoDaddy+CNAME+Setup) that I won't be able to link back to files located in domain subdirectories (ie, subdomains) even though they are hosted on GoDaddy.

The suggested solution from GoDaddy support? Remove the custom DNS settings and use redirect scripts to point back to Smugmug. I pasted a copy of the associated communication from GoDaddy support below. As I see it, resetting the domain DNS settings will disable it from being Smugmug custom hostname. I don't understand their point about running the redirect scripts since I don't have access to the server IIS manager.

At present, I haven't gotten a clear explanation from GoDaddy as to why the A-Record for a subdomain that is hosted by GoDaddy, can't simply be configured with an IP address that points back to files in the subdomain.

If you have any technical suggestions or pull with the Smugmug leadership to get this type of dilemma resolved, I'd be most appreciative (Andy, are you listening?). I'd much rather be taking pictures than spending so much time with this domain stuff.

BTW: I just submitted a suggestion to Smugmug through UserVoice that they provide, perhaps even on a limited basis, an extended file-type support beyond their rather limited .jpg/.png/.gif mandate. I also mentioned the information about the publicly-available posted on BlackBlaze about the server technology they employ: http://blog.backblaze.com/2009/09/01/petabytes-on-a-budget-how-to-build-cheap-cloud-storage/.

BlackBlaze states that cost to construct one of their 67TB arrays is $7867. According to my calculator that's less than $0.12 (12-cents) per GB. Heck, I'd even pay myself for that gigabyte I need : )

Thanks.

-- sc

:rutt

(GoDaddy.com) Support Staff Response
Dear Steve,

Thank you for your response. It appears you are wanting to content that is being hosted under the /stor directory to display when you access: http://www.latesky.com/stor/welcome.html. Please note, your domain is being pointed to Smug Mug's Ip address, so content that is being uploaded to our servers will not display. I would suggest changing your Ip address to point to your hosting account and then using redirect scripts to point your index page to Smug Mug (if they provide you with a URL).

To locate the IP address for your hosting account:

• Select 'Hosting' under the 'My Products' section.
• Click the hosting account that you would like to look up the information for.
• Notice the 'Hosting Account Details' listing on the right side of the page.
• Here you'll be able to see the IP address for your server.

To change the IP address for your domain:

1. Select "Domain Manager" from the "My Products" menu.
2. Click on the domain for which you wish to change the IP.
3. Click "Total DNS Control and MX Records".
4. Under the "A (Host)" section, click the pencil icon for the '@' record.
5. Enter the new IP address into the "Points To Ip Address:" field.
6. Click "OK".

Please allow up to 48 hours for this information to update with the Internet routing and DNS servers.

When using a Windows server, you can redirect to a 301 page using IIS.

To Redirect to a 301 Page Using IIS

NOTE:This only applies to dedicated and virtual dedicated servers.

1. In the Internet Services Manager, select the file or folder you want to redirect.
2. From the right-click menu, select a redirection to a URL.
3. Specify the file name of the page to which you want to redirect.
4. Select The exact URL entered above.
5. Select A permanent redirection for this resource.
6. Click Apply.

Please let us know if we can assist you in any other way.

Sincerely,

Online Support Team

Andy · September 15, 2009

LateSky wrote:

Andy, are you listening?

Sure. I'm wondering why all the fuss?

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/486451/Top%20Secret.txt

LateSky · September 15, 2009

Andy wrote:

Dropbox.
https://www.getdropbox.com/referrals/NTQ4NjQ1MTk

it's free for 2gb.

Thanks for the suggestion, Andy. I'll check it out. I've inquired with Dropbox about whether or not they post banner ads on web pages linked to resources stored there under their free service (like with GoDaddy). That would be a show-stopper for me.

I think it would be fantastic if Smugmug extended their file support beyond the limited .jpg/.png/.gif mandate (what's so intimidating about an .ico file anyway? : ), if even only for a limited amount of user space. One or two GB, I think, would be real useful to a lot of folks.

Maybe Smugmug partnering with Dropbox could be a solution. jfriend mentioned the on-line mass-storage provider BlackBlaze and their relatively inexpensive storage technology: http://blog.backblaze.com/2009/09/01/petabytes-on-a-budget-how-to-build-cheap-cloud-storage/. Perhaps this is something Smugmug may be interested in looking into themselves.

Ultimately, however, I'd prefer to contract with a well-established hosting service like GoDaddy, since I don't want wake up one day and find out that the company has gone under and my liked resources with it.

Thanks.

-- sc

Andy · September 15, 2009

LateSky wrote:

Thanks for the suggestion, Andy. I'll check it out. I've inquired with Dropbox about whether or not they post banner ads on web pages linked to resources stored there under their free service (like with GoDaddy). That would be a show-stopper for me.

I think it would be fantastic if Smugmug extended their file support beyond the limited .jpg/.png/.gif mandate (what's so intimidating about an .ico file anyway? : ), if even only for a limited amount of user space. One or two GB, I think, would be real useful to a lot of folks.

Maybe Smugmug partnering with Dropbox could be a solution. jfriend mentioned the on-line mass-storage provider BlackBlaze and their relatively inexpensive storage technology: http://blog.backblaze.com/2009/09/01/petabytes-on-a-budget-how-to-build-cheap-cloud-storage/. Perhaps this is something Smugmug may be interested in looking into themselves.

Ultimately, however, I'd prefer to contract with a well-established hosting service like GoDaddy, since I don't want wake up one day and find out that the company has gone under and my liked resources with it.

Thanks.

-- sc

I (and lots here, too) use backblaze.com for our own backups. $50 a year, sweet.

I use Dropbox because of it's awesomeness. Two completely different products.

I highly recommend both

(did you see a banner ad on the link I gave you? Here's one more link:)

LateSky · September 15, 2009

Andy wrote:

I (and lots here, too) use backblaze.com for our own backups. $50 a year, sweet.

I use Dropbox because of it's awesomeness. Two completely different products.

I highly recommend both

(did you see a banner ad on the link I gave you? Here's one more link:)

Very nice! Maybe there are some free lunches out there after all. Thanks!

Now, if they only support Photodex .px file formats...

-- sc

LateSky · September 16, 2009

Final answer...

LateSky wrote:

Very nice! Maybe there are some free lunches out there after all. Thanks!

Now, if they only support Photodex .px file formats...

-- sc

Well, Dropbox appears to be an excellent solution for my low-volume linked-file storage needs. Many thanks for the suggestion.

GoDaddy can go kiss my :moon !

-- sc

Just for the "record," and in case anyone in the dgrin-o-sphere may be interested in the explicit details (scary!), copied below is the related email thread between GoDaddy online support and myself.

:snore

It's in regard to linked access to files located in a subdomain (subdirectory) of a domain that's been re-routed from GoDaddy to Smugmug for use as a Smugmug custom hostname vis-a-vis: http://wiki.smugmug.net/display/SmugMug/GoDaddy+CNAME+Setup.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 10:11 PM
Discussion Notes
(GoDaddy) Support Staff Response

Dear Steve,

There is not a way to have a subdomain name go to two different locations.You would need to decide which way you want your subdomain name to go to. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please let us know if we can assist you in any other way.

Sincerely,

Online Support Team

*******************

Tuesday, September 15, 2009 12:14 PM
Customer Inquiry

Not the answer I was hoping for, I'm afraid. Especially since I am not hosting the domain and don't have access to the ISM.

Isn't there some way to redirect links to files in a subdomain of latesky.com, which has been re-routed to Smugmug, back to GoDaddy?

eg. http://www.latesky.com -> Smugmug; http://latesky.com -> Smugmug; but stor.latesky.com -> http://www.latesky.com/stor on GoDaddy?

Please advise. Thanks.

-- Steve

*******************

Monday, September 14, 2009 9:01 PM
Discussion Notes
(GoDaddy) Support Staff Response

Dear Steve,

Thank you for your response. It appears you are wanting to content that is being hosted under the /stor directory to display when you access: http://www.latesky.com/stor/welcome.html. Please note, your domain is being pointed to Smug Mug's Ip address, so content that is being uploaded to our servers will not display. I would suggest changing your Ip address to point to your hosting account and then using redirect scripts to point your index page to Smug Mug (if they provide you with a URL).

To locate the IP address for your hosting account:

• Select 'Hosting' under the 'My Products' section.
• Click the hosting account that you would like to look up the information for.
• Notice the 'Hosting Account Details' listing on the right side of the page.
• Here you'll be able to see the IP address for your server.

To change the IP address for your domain:

1. Select "Domain Manager" from the "My Products" menu.
2. Click on the domain for which you wish to change the IP.
3. Click "Total DNS Control and MX Records".
4. Under the "A (Host)" section, click the pencil icon for the '@' record.
5. Enter the new IP address into the "Points To Ip Address:" field.
6. Click "OK".

Please allow up to 48 hours for this information to update with the Internet routing and DNS servers.

When using a Windows server, you can redirect to a 301 page using IIS.

To Redirect to a 301 Page Using IIS

NOTE:This only applies to dedicated and virtual dedicated servers.

1. In the Internet Services Manager, select the file or folder you want to redirect.
2. From the right-click menu, select a redirection to a URL.
3. Specify the file name of the page to which you want to redirect.
4. Select The exact URL entered above.
5. Select A permanent redirection for this resource.
6. Click Apply.

Please let us know if we can assist you in any other way.

Sincerely,

Online Support Team

********************

Monday, September 14, 2009 11:55 AM
Customer Inquiry

Thank you.

Here is my pin #: xxxxxxxx

You mentioned that when you visit http://stor.latesky.com you are redirected (ie, re-routed) to http://www.latesky.com/stor. This may be the indicated URL but the browser is NOT displaying the contents of http://www.latesky.com/stor. It is displaying the contents of http://latesky.smugmug.com to which latesky.com has been re-routed through the modified DNS settings I described in my previous email.

Using the URL http://www.latesky.com/stor yields the same result as just http://www.latesky.com (or http://latesky.com). The browser never actually gets to http://www.latesky.com/stor even though it displays this path in the URL window.

Inside http://www.latesky.com/stor is a file called "welcome.html". Typing the URL http://www.latesky.com/stor/welcome.html should show the contents of this welcome.html which is: "Welcome to latesky.com/stor. Now GO AWAY!" (my little joke).

But that's not what happens.. What you see when you try visiting http://www.latesky.com/stor/welcome.htm, http://www.latesky.com/stor is the same result as if trying to visit http://www.latesky.com, that being my Smugmug homepage, latesky.smugmug.com, vis-a-vis the custom DNS settings (using GoDaddy domain manager) enabling latesky.com to be rerouted there.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Steve

********************

Monday, September 14, 2009 9:40 AM
Discussion Notes
(GoDaddy) Support Staff Response

Dear Steve,

Thank you for contacting Online Support.

The IP Address you have provided for your "stor" subdomain is our forwarding IP Address. It may be that you have setup subdomain forwarding for this subdomain if this is the assigned IP Address and you did not type this into your Total DNS Control Panel.

When I visit http://stor.latesky.com I am redirected to a new URL, http://www.latesky.com/stor, so it would appear that this is indeed what you have setup.

We will be happy to review the account to determine exactly how you have configured your DNS settings and your hosting settings, but first, we will need to validate the account with either your 4 digit Support Pin, the last 4 digits of your Pay Pal Billing Agreement ID, or the last he 6 digits of your credit card or checking account so we may discuss account specific information with you.

To Find Your PIN

1. Log in to your Account Manager.
2. In the My Account section, select Account Settings.
3. On your Αccount Sеttіngѕ рagе, сliсk the Account Security Information link.
4. Your PIN is at the bottom of the Account Security Information section that displays on the right.

Please let us know if we can help any other way.

Sincerely,

Online Support Technician

***********************

Monday, September 14, 2009 1:58 AM
Customer Inquiry (Initial)

Hello,

Here's some background for my question located in a paragraph far, far below:

I own a domain called "latesky.com" that is hosted by GoDaddy.

The original "default" IP for latesky.com on GoDaddy is ###.###.###.###, as determined using the GoDaddy Host Manager.

I have a separate account with a photo-sharing site called Smugmug.

Using the GoDaddy Domain Manger, I modified the DNS settings for latesky.com so that is re-routed to my Smugmug account according to the following instructions provided by Smugmug specifically for GoDaddy-hosted domains:

http://wiki.smugmug.net/display/SmugMug/GoDaddy+CNAME+Setup

I now have an A-record for "host" latesky.com (@) that "points to" ###.###.###.###, the IP for smugmug.com, and a CNAME record where "host" www "points to" domains.smugmug.com.

The purpose of this is to have a domain-name of my liking for my photo-site rather than the less-desirable Smugmug default URL. When someone types "latesky.com" or "www.latesky.com" as a browser URL, they are auto-magically re-routed to my Smugmug photo site with http://www.latesky.com displayed in the browser window instead of the Smugmug default.

Using the GoDaddy Domain Manager, I also created a subdirectory under latesky.com called "stor" that is located on GoDaddy. I can access "stor" via third-party FTP clients using the IP ###.###.###.###; this is the "default" IP for latesky.com assigned by GoDaddy as mentioned above.

I want to upload .pdf and video files to the "stor" directory on GoDaddy so that they can be accessed via links from my Smugmug website routed to latesky.com. Smugmug does not support .pdf or video files so I can't put them there.

Using the GoDaddy Domain Manager, I configured the subdirectory "stor" as a subdomain of latesky.com (ie. stor.latesky.com). GoDaddy auto-magically created an A-record for the subdomain "stor" using an IP of 64.202.189.170 (I do not understand the reason for this particular IP address).

Any attempt to access any directory/subdomain of latesky.com such as stor.latesky.com, latesky.com/stor, etc., results in being re-routed to my latesky.com homepage on Smugmug. I can't figure out a way to access files that may be stored in the "stor" directory/subdomain or any subdirectories thereof.

Here's the question:

How should the DNS settings for latesky.com (ie, the A-record and/or CNAME record) be configured so that I can link to files in the "stor" subdirectory/subdomain and still have latesky.com re-routed from GoDaddy to Smugmug?

I have tried for many hours to resolve this issue myself, without success. You're my only hope, Obi-Wan support person!

Thanks.

-- Steve

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

LateSky · September 21, 2009

Dropbox and LateSky.com

LateSky wrote:

Very nice! Maybe there are some free lunches out there after all. Thanks!

Now, if they only support Photodex .px file formats...

-- sc

...what storing liked files on Dropbox (www.getdropbox.com) has helped me achieve for my Smugmug website:

http://www.latesky.com/Info/WebShowLinks/9655752_J23JE

(FYI: ProShow Gold (v3.x) from www.Photodex.com was used to create the audio slideshows.)

-- sc

Andy · September 21, 2009

LateSky wrote:

...what storing liked files on Dropbox (www.getdropbox.com) has helped me achieve for my Smugmug website:

http://www.latesky.com/Info/WebShowLinks/9655752_J23JE

(FYI: ProShow Gold (v3.x) from www.Photodex.com was used to create the audio slideshows.)

-- sc

Wow, a PC-only app? Strange...

LateSky · September 21, 2009

Andy wrote:

Wow, a PC-only app? Strange...

You know, not owning a Mac I never gave it much thought, but you're right, ProShow is a PC-only app. That does seem rather strange. Maybe it's a price-point thing, I don't know. Apple probably gives this type of software away free, right : ?

If anyone tries running the audio slideshows from my site and has problems, please let me know:

http://www.latesky.com/Info/WebShowLinks/9655752_J23JE

I'm always interested in feedback to help improve the "user experience."

Thanks.
-- sc

Andy · September 21, 2009

LateSky wrote:

You know, not owning a Mac I never gave it much thought, but you're right, ProShow is a PC-only app. That does seem rather strange. Maybe it's a price-point thing, I don't know. Apple probably gives this type of software away free, right : ?

If anyone tries running the audio slideshows from my site and has problems, please let me know:

http://www.latesky.com/Info/WebShowLinks/9655752_J23JE

I'm always interested in feedback to help improve the "user experience."

Thanks.
-- sc

Yeah, I can't run it

jfriend · September 21, 2009

LateSky wrote:

You know, not owning a Mac I never gave it much thought, but you're right, ProShow is a PC-only app. That does seem rather strange. Maybe it's a price-point thing, I don't know. Apple probably gives this type of software away free, right : ?

If anyone tries running the audio slideshows from my site and has problems, please let me know:

http://www.latesky.com/Info/WebShowLinks/9655752_J23JE

I'm always interested in feedback to help improve the "user experience."

Thanks.
-- sc

Besides the PC-only issue, it requires downloading a non-standard plug-in (e.g. not something like Flash that is widely known and understood). That is not something I will do on my computer.

LateSky · September 21, 2009

Andy wrote:

Yeah, I can't run it

Nuts! I thought the browser-based slideshows should be hardware independent. I'll have to inquire with PhotoDex about that.

Andy, what type of browser were you using when you tried to run the show on your Mac?

Thanks for checking it out and letting me know!

-- sc

Andy · September 21, 2009

LateSky wrote:

Nuts! I thought the browser-based slideshows should be hardware independent. I'll have to inquire with PhotoDex about that.

Andy, what type of browser were you using when you tried to run the show on your Mac?

Thanks for checking it out and letting me know!

-- sc

doesn't matter, ff3, safari4, the show is trying to install a .exe on my mac....

jfriend · September 21, 2009

LateSky wrote:

Nuts! I thought the browser-based slideshows should be hardware independent. I'll have to inquire with PhotoDex about that.

Andy, what type of browser were you using when you tried to run the show on your Mac?

Thanks for checking it out and letting me know!

-- sc

The Photodex slideshow in your browser requires a Photodex plug-in be installed on the viewer's computer. If the slideshow was produced as a java plug-in, a javascript app or a flash app, we would all be able to view it. Instead, browser plug-ins must be compiled for a specific operating system and sometimes for a specific browser (e.g. IE does it differently Firefox). You probably already have it installed on your computer because you have the right Photodex software already installed. We do not.

LateSky · September 21, 2009

jfriend wrote:

Besides the PC-only issue, it requires downloading a non-standard plug-in (e.g. not something like Flash that is widely known and understood). That is not something I will do on my computer.

Yes, I am concerned about peoples' possible reluctance to allowing the Photodex plugin to install on their computer(s) and fully understand your concern. However, I've been using the Presenter plugin for years and is perfectly safe and non-malevolent as far as I've experienced and read on the Internet.

ProShow has an option to generate a standard Flash presentation, but the size of the primary .flv file created is about 3 - 4+ times the size of the Photodex .px file which requires the Presneter plugin. For the presentations I'm generating, I'm talking in the realm of 300MB for the Flash .flv versus about 80MB for the Photodex .px for the same presentation. Internet upload times and storage requirements thus become more of a concern with Flash. In my tests, as well, the .px file generates much quicker, streams much faster and is of generally better quality than the Flash.

For the time being at least, peoples' reluctance to accepting the Photodex plugin is something that I'll have to live with. If you're willing to venture out of your comfort zone a little and try the Photodex plugin, I don't think you'll be disappointed with those audio slideshows I mentioned before.

Thanks for your input, John, as always. Much appreciated.

Hey, and don't forget to watch Ken Burns' new National Parks film coming to PBS in the US next week: http://www.pbs.org/nationalparks/. I had the good fortune to attend a preview screening the other day and it looks to be fantastic!

-- sc

LateSky · September 21, 2009

jfriend wrote:

The Photodex slideshow in your browser requires a Photodex plug-in be installed on the viewer's computer. If the slideshow was produced as a java plug-in, a javascript app or a flash app, we would all be able to view it. Instead, browser plug-ins must be compiled for a specific operating system and sometimes for a specific browser (e.g. IE does it differently Firefox). You probably already have it installed on your computer because you have the right Photodex software already installed. We do not.

Here is the link to Photodex for downloading the Presenter plugin and viewing related information:

http://www.photodex.com/products/presenter/

According to Photodex, it won't work on Mac today, unfortunately (one reason I've had to stay with PC). My apologies. Though that may be change with Mac's move to Intel. Stay tuned!

With the plugin concerns and Mac support issues raised in the previous posts to this thread, I'll have to work on making Flash as well as Photodex versions of the audio slideshows available for public viewing. :andy

Thanks for your help...
--sc

LateSky · September 21, 2009

Andy wrote:

Wow, a PC-only app? Strange...

I thought with Apple's move to Intel, that Windows-only apps could be run on Mac. No?

-- sc

Andy · September 21, 2009

LateSky wrote:

I thought with Apple's move to Intel, that Windows-only apps could be run on Mac. No?

-- sc

Of course, but I still have to fire up Windows. :nono

jfriend · September 21, 2009

LateSky wrote:

Here is the link to Photodex for downloading the Presenter plugin and viewing related information:

http://www.photodex.com/products/presenter/

According to Photodex, it won't work on Mac today, unfortunately (one reason I've had to stay with PC). My apologies. Though that may be change with Mac's move to Intel. Stay tuned!

With the plugin concerns and Mac support issues raised in the previous posts to this thread, I'll have to work on making Flash as well as Photodex versions of the audio slideshows available for public viewing. :andy

Thanks for your help...
--sc

I view every plug-in and every app I install on my computer as one more thing that can add to the decay in stability and security of my computer, thus I only add things I need. Some of that is because of the crummy design of Windows and some of it is just because every app maker makes mistakes so the more you have, the more mistakes you have on your computer.

I actually own ProShow Gold myself so I have that plug-in, but your show requires a newer version than I have installed. I'm just not interested in messing with it now.

LateSky · September 21, 2009

jfriend wrote:

I view every plug-in and every app I install on my computer as one more thing that can add to the decay in stability and security of my computer, thus I only add things I need. Some of that is because of the crummy design of Windows and some of it is just because very app maker makes mistakes so the more you have, the more mistakes you have on your computer.

I actually own ProShow Gold myself so I have that plug-in, but your show requires a newer version than I have installed. I'm just not interested in messing with it now.

Understandable. Personally, I loath realplayer - it's a memory hog and throws out a bunch of unwanted stuff on my system.

I'll try getting a Flash version of those audio slideshows up on the Internet and see if you wouldn't mind checking it out then.

Thanks.

-- sc

LateSky · September 21, 2009

Andy wrote:

Of course, but I still have to fire up Windows. :nono

The horror! The in-hu-man-ity!! :yikes

jfriend · September 21, 2009

LateSky wrote:

Understandable. Personally, I loath realplayer - it's a memory hog and throws out a bunch of unwanted stuff on my system.

I'll try getting a Flash version of those audio slideshows up on the Internet and see if you wouldn't mind checking it out then.

Thanks.

-- sc

I don't have realplayer on my system either for the same reasons you don't like it. For movies, I have Windows Media player, QuickTime and Flash. It would be nice if there was an efficient standard format for slideshows. They can be done as movies, but I know what you mean that they are way, way larger than when done as slideshows. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a standard format for that that the three main media players support.

LateSky · September 22, 2009

jfriend wrote:

I don't have realplayer on my system either for the same reasons you don't like it. For movies, I have Windows Media player, QuickTime and Flash. It would be nice if there was an efficient standard format for slideshows. They can be done as movies, but I know what you mean that they are way, way larger than when done as slideshows. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a standard format for that that the three main media players support.

Would open source video format be a solution?

http://www.google.com/search?q=open+source+video&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

--sc

LateSky · September 22, 2009

Andy wrote:

Wow, a PC-only app? Strange...

FYI about ProShow on Mac:

http://www.photodex.com/support/resources/howto/mac

Yeah, I know, still would need to have a copy of Windows installed

jfriend · September 22, 2009

LateSky wrote:

Would open source video format be a solution?

http://www.google.com/search?q=open+source+video&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

--sc

Supported by one browser (FF 3.5). It has promise if picked up by other browsers.

Andy · September 22, 2009

LateSky wrote:

The horror! The in-hu-man-ity!! :yikes

Sorry - my :nono smilie was meant to say, you might not want to inconvenience a subset of your visitors.... that was all

LateSky · September 23, 2009

Andy wrote:

Sorry - my :nono smilie was meant to say, you might not want to inconvenience a subset of your visitors.... that was all

No worries, Andy. I was just joshin' with ya.

Personally, however, I think the audio slideshows I created and posted on LateSky.com are spectacular (and so I've been told) and that one would find worthwhile any reasonable effort they would undertake in order to view them (including the installation of the required benign plugin).

As a follow-up to our recent conversation here about Photodex ProShow and the use of their Presenter plugin; I spent several hours yesterday evaluating the different video-like output capabilities of ProShow with respect to my application including Flash, MPEG, Windows Media and Quicktime. None could replicate the remarkable quality and streaming efficiency of the Photodex ".px" format run with the Presenter plugin.

Hopefully, in the near future, the technology will evolve to be more Mac-friendly; but at this time, because of the superior output quality of the Photodex .px file format, I am only comfortable to deliver my streaming audio-slideshow presentations in the Photodex format that will require interested viewers to install Presenter plugin.

Cheers,
Steve

Where to store <1GB of files

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