maSnun's logs » free-services http://masnun.com/blog Personal Blog of maSnun Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:33:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Using web.py with Google App Engine http://masnun.com/blog/2009/08/01/using-web-py-with-google-app-engine/ http://masnun.com/blog/2009/08/01/using-web-py-with-google-app-engine/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 03:15:12 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/?p=382 Continue reading →]]> I love coding in Python and have been exploring the excellent web.py framework lately. From what I’ve seen, web.py is a very simple yet powerful python based web framework. It’d take me a lot of time to learn django (if I ever manage to make up my mind into it) and it already took around a couple of hours to understand the Google App Engine’s default webapp framework.

web.py includes a built in web server to develop an application locally. But I am a Google fan and was thinking of deploying web.py on Google App Engine. I believed GAE and web.py together can help me put up a web app in minutes. And so did they… :D

The first question came to my mind was “How am I going to install web.py on my GAE account ?”. Well, it was pretty easy in the end. Just extract the web.py package and put the “web” directory inside your application directory. That is the “web” directory would be in the same directory where the app.yaml file resides. Now, in app.yaml file, map all URLs to a single python file. In my case, it was “main.py”.

Now develop the application in the normal web.py way. “It’s easy as pie!” — I thought. But it was not that easy in fact. I had to make a couple of changes.

The app I wrote didn’t do what I expected it to. Rather it raised an “import error” :( Later, I found out that I have to use “web.application.cgirun()” method instead of the normal “run()” method.

Then I reloaded the app. But this time I got an “internal server error”. After visiting the web.py cookbook, I found out that, to use web.py templates on GAE, I have to compile all templates using the “web/template.py –compile templates” command. I did so. All my templates were compiled into python source code. Cool !

Now my app was running smooth and working fine ! So, at last I made it… Yahoo ! I am loving python, web.py and Google App Engine together ;-)

PS: I am using web.py 0.3 where I have the cgirun() method. In older versions of web.py, you have to be tricky. In that case, please consult this thread:

http://bit.ly/EoVyM

Here’s the source code (Without the template):

#!/usr/bin/env python
 
import web
urls = ("/(.*)","site")
 
class site:
	def GET(self,path):
		render = web.template.render('templates')
		return render.masnun(path)
 
app = web.application(urls,globals())
 
def main():
	app.cgirun()
 
if __name__ == '__main__':
  main()

Here’s the “templates/masnun.htm”:

$def with (name)
<html><head><title>web.py demo</title></head><body>
You requested: <b> $name</b></body></html>
]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2009/08/01/using-web-py-with-google-app-engine/feed/ 0 u.nu, the shortest urls: the API http://masnun.com/blog/2009/05/10/unu-the-shortest-urls-the-api/ http://masnun.com/blog/2009/05/10/unu-the-shortest-urls-the-api/#comments Sun, 10 May 2009 15:35:25 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2009/05/10/unu-the-shortest-urls-the-api/ Continue reading →]]> Here’s a simple code snippet copied from the home page of u.nu.

<?php
$original_url = ‘http://www.google.com/’;
$request = ‘http://u.nu/unu-api-simple?url=’ . urlencode($original_url);
$response = file_get_contents($request);
if (substr($request, 0, 4) == ‘http’)
{
echo “Shortened URL = $response”;
}
else
{
list ($error_code, $error_message) = explode(‘|’, $response);
echo “Error = $error_message ($error_code)”;
}
?>

PS: u.nu is a great url shortener service since it generates very short and easy-to-remember urls.

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2009/05/10/unu-the-shortest-urls-the-api/feed/ 0 The RIA Experience http://masnun.com/blog/2009/03/14/the-ria-experience/ http://masnun.com/blog/2009/03/14/the-ria-experience/#comments Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:24:32 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2009/03/14/the-ria-experience/ Continue reading →]]> I have already written about the new AOL Mail RIA. Now that I have upgraded my PC, I am now actively enjoying this super cool webmail. Many people might raise their eyebrows when I call it “super cool” given that RIA has nothing except looks alone. Yes, it’s definitely true that RIA has only looks at the moment. But I am actively in touch with the product manager of AOL Mail RIA project discussing the present and future state of the webmail service. It’s quite clear from the intension of this guy that they want to surpass Gmail when it comes to free service. I do believe that they can do that. The RIA service is still in Beta and new features are expected to come in this week.

So what the fuss is about this RIA thing?

  • RIA = Rich Internet Application.
  • RIA uses Microsoft’s Silver Light technology to deliver highly interactive web content.
  • You need to load the RIA application only once for every machine. You will be able to log in lightning fast afterwards. This is a big win over other web mail services.
  • The Interface is eye candy. Currently there are three themes.
  • The search engine implements a “client side” search to perform really fast searches of the email headers.
  • It works fine on my 5kbps internet connection.
  • They have promised to consider conversation, labels and many other improvements over time.

Things you won’t like:

  • The search engine only searches the headers of the email in the current folder. No searching in the message body. AOL has assured me that introducing the full email search is being given high priority on their current roadmap.
  • You will miss conversation view if you’re a regular Gmail user. AOL says they are looking forward to adding it too.
  • No labels. Promised to have a look into this.
  • Incomplete settings ? No offense, they are still in beta.
  • New tab won’t open in Firefox 2 ? Known bug to the AOL RIA team. They’re trying to implement a workaround.

I made the Switch, YOU?

I finally made the switch, by now it’s partial. I am going to keep both my Gmail and AOL Mail side by side. I can’t forward and transfer my emails from Gmail until I get conversation view in AOL mail. Otherwise, my inbox will be a mess. But I am using AOL as my primary contact address. My friend Alvee has switched too. There are a good number of reasons to make a switch from Gmail to AOL. Here’s some of them:

  • Gmail’s storage is not unlimited. You can’t freely share files every now and then. Though now I am using only 2% of my Gmail storage, the number of inbound email messages has increased. I think it’s time I should go for an unlimited storage. I was ready to pay for unlimited storage. But even if you pay, Gmail doesn’t offer you unlimited storage. AOL gives you free on the other side.
  • Ever visited http://gmail-is-too-creepy.com ? I hardly care about what is written on that page yet, why should you have to bear confusion in mind if you can avoid it?
  • AOL’s POP3 and IMAP config is very simple. At least 2 times simpler than Gmail.
  • The RIA interface is thousands time better than Gmail v2. Loads faster too.

 

Even after all these, I would say that AOL RIA still has a long way to go before they can be as popular as Gmail. But it doesn’t hurt to try a new service. Why don’t you join and have a go?

AOL Mail RIA: http://ria.aol.com J

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2009/03/14/the-ria-experience/feed/ 0 The New AOL Experience http://masnun.com/blog/2009/03/04/the-new-aol-experience/ http://masnun.com/blog/2009/03/04/the-new-aol-experience/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 07:20:39 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2009/03/04/the-new-aol-experience/ Continue reading →]]> Before you start reading, I would like you to re-read the title and realise that I did mean to put a bit of emphasis on the word “new”. Yeah, I am going to narrate the experience I recently gained just after my previous post on the “all new aol mail” was published.

I am not quite sure if my blog has yet been indexed by the giant search engines, still, here I am, got a mail from one of the product managers of the AOL Mail team who somehow found my previous post here. He wrote to me regarding my thoughts about the all new AOL Email. Eventually I told him that I had lost masnun@aol.com and this kind man promised to look into the fact. Guess what, he made another AOL staff find out the real reason behind the termination of my account. That’s not all, he also made that staff reserve “masnun@aol.in” for me. I was more than happy to get such a pleasant surprise gift from a stranger with whom I haven’t had a live chat yet, just a few emails those we exchanged remain the only links between us. I made the decision immediately then. I am going to keep an AOL account side by side with Gmail. People who are barking mad out there complaining about AOL Customer Care should try a bit to understand the significant difference between the “old aol” and the “new aol”.

This kind guy is a product manager of the Rich Internet Application (RIA) project of AOL that I haven’t yet tested but am dying to test given that the cool screen shots I saw was really eye-candy. RIA requires Microsoft’s SilverLight technology. I need to install the plugin. Unfortunately, I don’t yet have Win XP SP2. With my SP2-less XP, I can not test the product that many people believe, is going to be the future of email messaging. I am still to wait about a week to upgrade my PC before upgrading it’s softwares. But till then, I am using the standard version of AOL Mail.

Features I like:
·········# The interface is nice.
·········# The sidebar with plugins.
·········# Integrated AIM.
·········# Send your AIM presence in outgoing email messages.
·········# Check Yahoo! Mail and Gmail from AOL Mail (Gmail plugin doesn’t work ATM, but I was told that they will work on it)
·········# UNLIMITED STORAGE.
·········# Free POP3 and IMAP support.
·········# Reading Pane.
·········# Themes.
·········# Linking Screen Names provide you the opportunity to switch between accounts on the fly.
·········# Nice Mobile Version.

Things I dislike:
·········# Banner ads rotate over time even if you don’t move.
·········# The rotating ads often cause problems to GUI.
·········# Ads in Email footer.
·········# Takes a bit speedy connection for the standard version. AOL needs to be faster.

Few Tips For Slow Connection Users:
·········# Uncheck the option to automatically sign in to AIM.
·········# Activate Reading pane. It’ll help you read messages without facing GUI problems because of the rotating ads.

These two actions helped me improve the performance of AOL Mail Standard for me.

LINKS:

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2009/03/04/the-new-aol-experience/feed/ 0 Gmail's Storage Secret http://masnun.com/blog/2009/02/28/gmails-storage-secret/ http://masnun.com/blog/2009/02/28/gmails-storage-secret/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 12:25:09 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2009/02/28/gmails-storage-secret/ Continue reading →]]> How much storage does Google provide for every Gmail account? I know you can just visit the Gmail front page and quote the digits straightway. But have you ever wodered how that counter on gmail.com work? If you’re a web designer or a developer, the answer will automatically come to your mouth. It’s javascript, updating the counter depending on your system’s time.

Gmail adds 4 bytes, that is 4e-3 kb and 4e-6 mb per second. The JavaScript just checks your system’s time and performs a calculation to determine the current quota for a gmail mailbox.

Here’s a test: While the counter is being displayed on your browser, change your PC’s time. Return to the counter and you’ll see what I have told you so far.

So, what does that mean? That means nothing but still it’s a critical reason for choosing Gmail over other webmails. Storage is the only thing that pushes Gmail behind AOL, Yahoo! and others who provide unlimited storage for free. Google does not provide unlimited, but storage increases every second. It’s almost like having an unlimited storage.

Gmail adds 4bytes per second to your mailbox. 1kb (1024bytes) every 256 seconds (4.26 minutes). 1 MB every 71 hours.

Do you recieve more than 1MB emails every 3 days constantly ? Then you should buy additional storage if you want to continue using Gmail or choose another webmail service that provides better storage.

But, I believe most of us won’t cross that limit. And unless you have an alternative to quit Gmail, don’t leave it. They have free pop and imap, labels, integrated chat without flash, integrated video and voice chat, unlimited filters, cool mobile access and all those you might need to meet your emailing needs. Specially, I love Gmail because they don’t send ads at the bottom of my outgoing email messages and conversations save me a lot of time everyday. The only issue might be storage if you are a power user. In that case buy a google storage plan or create a AOL / Yahoo! account for storage. Forward your heavy messages to that account while saving the light messages inside Gmail.

PS. My friend says “Google knows their business. They want to make money by forcing people to upgrade storage after they have got used to the innovative service and felt relaxed about the storage believing that’d increase whenever they need.”. I don’t disagree. google knows their business, perhaps better than others. But that doesn’t hurt neither me, nor the millions of other Gmail fans. Still, it would be better if Gmail could get us rid of the storage “tension”.

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2009/02/28/gmails-storage-secret/feed/ 0 Dot TK Free Domains http://masnun.com/blog/2009/02/15/dot-tk-free-domains/ http://masnun.com/blog/2009/02/15/dot-tk-free-domains/#comments Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:39:37 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2009/02/15/dot-tk-free-domains/ Continue reading →]]> Here’s a cool service, though quite old and popular. I am posting it for the people who still don’t know about it.

Dot TK is the country domain of the Tokelau. A series of islands in the pacific. They provide their country domain for free. When you  Sign Up , you get a free top level .tk domain (yourname.tk). Free accounts get url forwarding and mail forwarding along with some other features. Paid accounts get full DNS support and other premium services.

Even if you don’t upgrade, it’s worth having a short url like: masnun.tk which is even one character short from the paid .com domains. And don’t forget the free email forwarding.

I used this service in the past for a long time before I registered masnun.com. If I didn’t get masnun.com available, I would have considered upgrading .tk rather than buying other top level domains.

For your comfort: Sign Up now :)

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2009/02/15/dot-tk-free-domains/feed/ 1 XTGem http://masnun.com/blog/2007/03/15/xtgem/ http://masnun.com/blog/2007/03/15/xtgem/#comments Thu, 15 Mar 2007 12:07:00 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2007/03/15/xtgem/ Continue reading →]]> XTGem is a new kind of wap host which in my opinion is the best wap
hosting service. It's environment resembles to the user interface of
wapamp but the functional side is identical to wen.ru. It is developed
by one of the developers of wapamp. It's unique feature is it's XT
Functions. It lets you easily embed complicated wap functionality like
browser info viewer or counter on your page without any scripting. Its
file system is also great with 100 MB free storage! Visit
http://xtgem.com for more info…

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2007/03/15/xtgem/feed/ 0 DeshMail ::: Free Email Service http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/deshmail-free-email-service/ http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/deshmail-free-email-service/#comments Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:21:00 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2007/02/20/deshmail-free-email-service/ Continue reading →]]> Deshmail.com is a Bangladeshi free email service which is the 1st
Bangla email service. It has pop port too. Just set the pop port to
"mail.deshmail.com". The home page address is www.deshmail.com and
mind that if you don't add that "www", you won't be able to visit the
main page. They have problem with their domain's cName records. By the
way check this service out and remember that it is brought to you by
BangladeshInfo.com.The service was launched a few years ago but the UI
hasn't changed a bit!

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/deshmail-free-email-service/feed/ 0 POP Accounts http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/pop-accounts/ http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/pop-accounts/#comments Tue, 20 Feb 2007 14:11:00 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2007/02/20/pop-accounts/ Continue reading →]]> POP stands for Post Office Protocol. With a POP supported email
account you can download your emails and read them offline.You can
also compose emails offline and send them on the fly.You can even
download emails on cell phones that has email application installed.
It can be an easy way to transfer files from your mobile phone as mms
is often a bit costly.There are many FREE pop service providers.
Hotpop.com,BlueBottle.com,Gmail.com,Acasa.ro and Yahoo! (UK,IN,SG and
a few more intl version) are popular!

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/pop-accounts/feed/ 0 Import Other Emails To Gmail http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/import-other-emails-to-gmail/ http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/import-other-emails-to-gmail/#comments Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:55:00 +0000 masnun http://masnun.com/2007/02/20/import-other-emails-to-gmail/ Continue reading →]]> Gmail has finally given it's users a chance to import emails from
other pop3 email accounts. It also lets you send email from those
accounts too. Gmail automatically checks the pop3 accounts and
retrieves fails. You can add up to 5 POP3 accounts. It's an useful
service for them who used to use pop email and now use gmail. I've
added my DeshMail pop accounts to my gmail. You can specify labels for
specific pop accounts. The key point is you have to pay for this
service in Yahoo! and many others but its free!

]]> http://masnun.com/blog/2007/02/20/import-other-emails-to-gmail/feed/ 0