I have been mainly using Heroku for hosting recently. For some reason it seems that a lot of my recent projects have required an image gallery, file uploads or some combination of the two. I have usually used a combination of Carrierwave and Fog for things like that in the past, but it does not work very well on Heroku as it has a 30 second timeout, so if you need to upload large files or process images once you have uploaded them (e.g. Carrierwave versions) then it will time out more often than not.
To get over this problem I have been experimenting with FilePicker.io, and up to this point I am favourably impressed. Initially I was a bit concerned about having to use a FilePicker.io address for images, but the application uses S3 for storage so it is possible to get round that by specifying your own file path and filename in the storage options, then using CloudFront to serve up those images to your page.
The service also allows for conversion, which is done via a request to their services, so it is possible to create and store a number of different versions if, for example, you need a thumbnail, a carousel image and a large image.
No problems thus far, and the team seems very responsive. I have had a couple of support questions to which the CEO responded personally and very quickly.
My major concern with relying on a service like this is that it may eventually be "acquihired", and that all the effort we put into developing for it will be wasted, but, to be honest, the service is so easy to use that I am not very concerned about the effort involved.
Thursday 6 June 2013
Tuesday 4 June 2013
Introduction to me
Having been an avid reader of blogs for many years, I have always had an interest in doing my own, but I have never really felt I had a lot to say. I now realise that I would find it useful as an aide-memoire, but if anyone else gets any benefit from my ramblings then I will be very happy.
This blog will focus on my professional life, but may have some random posts on other things I find interesting.
I am currently the lead (and usually only) developer at Little Owl Labs, where I develop web applications and websites both for myself and for an ever-increasing list of clients.
In addition to my private work, I also hawk myself out as a developer for hire, and have worked for a number of clients ranging from digital and marketing agencies such as Juice (where I am currently working) and The Raft, as well as some public sector organisations (most recently Reigate and Banstead Borough Council).
The technologies I use most regularly these days are Ruby on Rails, Javascript, Postgres/MySQL or Mongoid, and obviously HTML and CSS. I host mainly on Heroku, but have also used both EC2 and Linux servers I have provisioned myself.
Prior to my new life as an internet applications developer I worked for a company called Visokio where we wrote desktop application software. I joined the company when it began in 2001 and stayed there until 2010 - being part of the company going from a bunch of four guys in the corner of someone else's office to a company that was supplying many blue chip companies in a range of sectors. I started as a Java developer, but later on became responsible for the Flash/Actionscript side of the development - work that was recognised with the Internet World Innovator of the Year Award in 2006.
Finally, I should probably also mention StudentProofreading.co.uk, which began many years ago (in 2006) as a little side project, but which is now the leading provider of academic proofreading services in the UK. I am still managing director of the company, and am currently undertaking a rewrite of the back-end systems.
Given my fairly diverse professional life, this blog will probably jump from topic to topic, from business matters to deep technical issues. I hope that doesn't put you off!
This blog will focus on my professional life, but may have some random posts on other things I find interesting.
I am currently the lead (and usually only) developer at Little Owl Labs, where I develop web applications and websites both for myself and for an ever-increasing list of clients.
In addition to my private work, I also hawk myself out as a developer for hire, and have worked for a number of clients ranging from digital and marketing agencies such as Juice (where I am currently working) and The Raft, as well as some public sector organisations (most recently Reigate and Banstead Borough Council).
The technologies I use most regularly these days are Ruby on Rails, Javascript, Postgres/MySQL or Mongoid, and obviously HTML and CSS. I host mainly on Heroku, but have also used both EC2 and Linux servers I have provisioned myself.
Prior to my new life as an internet applications developer I worked for a company called Visokio where we wrote desktop application software. I joined the company when it began in 2001 and stayed there until 2010 - being part of the company going from a bunch of four guys in the corner of someone else's office to a company that was supplying many blue chip companies in a range of sectors. I started as a Java developer, but later on became responsible for the Flash/Actionscript side of the development - work that was recognised with the Internet World Innovator of the Year Award in 2006.
Finally, I should probably also mention StudentProofreading.co.uk, which began many years ago (in 2006) as a little side project, but which is now the leading provider of academic proofreading services in the UK. I am still managing director of the company, and am currently undertaking a rewrite of the back-end systems.
Given my fairly diverse professional life, this blog will probably jump from topic to topic, from business matters to deep technical issues. I hope that doesn't put you off!
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