Echo2 Framework

It seems the Echo2 framework transmits down to the client any changes it perceives occurred based on calls to add/remove/set methods of its components. What this translates too is that Echo2 does not keep track of what has already been transmitted in order to conserve bandwidth, so my code has to do it instead.

This isn't too surprising really. I had it in the back of my mind that this is how it likely worked. It is a little annoying, but I can see where such a self optimization would be complex to implement without doubling the memory requirements per user.

Initial testing shows that dial-up users are extremely vulnerable to excessive refreshes. It doesn't take too many before the "please wait" screen starts popping up. In fact, based on how the chat rooms behaved, I'd say it might be a good idea to reposition that "please wait" screen to somewhere other than the center of the screen. Perhaps the top-right.

I do hope Echo3 gets released soon. Support for dial-up is important.

Remote Connections

Unless I did something terribly wrong, it appears my ISP is blocking FTP. This isn't too massive of a problem, but it does create some limits on my flexibility.
Guess I'll need another ISP when I have more visitors after all.

DynDNS And Remote Connections

Verified that port 80 isn't blocked by my ISP. This means I'll be able to let others connect into my own servers now.
Good news!!!

Java Projects

Need to look into Software Transactional Memory (STM) for Java at a later date. The atomic keyword could be really handy for multi-threaded access to variables, but current support for STM in Java seems to be lacking. Oh well, better luck next time.

Managed to get Subversion running as a service. It's not a permanent solution, but it should do until I have a proper server to put stuff like that on.

Building Renovation

Managed a fair amount of work on the collapsed brick wall. It will be nice to get the air conditioner going again with this near 100 degree weather. It probably wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the building sitting snug around a bunch of others, at the bottom of a hill, where practically no wind ever hits. Hopefully the AC will be running again this Friday, Monday at the latest.
Once the AC gets the place cooled down I'll be able to begin work on setting up a server. I'm still thinking Daisy CMS will be the one I'll use. The feature set still looks to be the best all in one solution I've been able to find.

• openSuse
• DynDNS
  
• Sun JDK
• MySQL
• Daisy

That should about do it I think. Hopefully it will give me an idea of what load the DSL connection can handle.

Game Creation

The trouble with trying to make a game by one's self is that you end up having to do a lot of different work. Mechanics, programming, world design, background story, web site, community building, hardware, etc, etc, etc.

I've got to figure out how to manage all this stuff so that I still get work done. I also need to keep my expenses as low as possible or else I'll run out of funds before I have a product I can attempt donations against.


Time to get going...