We've posted a summary of design plans for developing Take11 Vault pages. These pages will aggregate data from individual user records and will delve into the history of film through a timeline, filmographies, awards, etc. The document can be seen at Vault Design Summary. Users are invited to review the plans and respond to Jim with comments and suggestions.

We have had several requests for supporting extended logins, so users do not have to re-enter passwords when returning to the site. I have resisted this because, for a site under development like Take11, the convenience of extended logins can lead to frustration. The problem is that a dynamic site relies heavily on JavaScripts, and for those scripts to be effective, browsers must cache scripts and the associated data. After all, a major motivation for using a JavaScript is so the browser does not need to continually request more data from the database on the server.

However, for a site under development, the structure of tables in the database may change. If such a change occurs while User X is on an extended login, then when that User revisits the site, her cache will be outdated. If she then attempts to load a page that executes a JavaScript, the script fails, the page does not load, and other undesirable consequences may follow. In most cases, this can be resolved by the User simply clearing the browser's cache. But the User may not be aware of that or the consequences may be more severe.

I am willing to try a compromise: (a) When I institute a structural change that makes browser caches outdated, I will then log all users off the site. When you log back in, your cache will be cleared of outdated scripts and data. However, I will forget to do this, from time-to-time, so (b) I have installed a script that automatically logs out any user who has been logged in for more than six consecutive days.

So, depending on what I'm doing on the backend, you may be logged in for as long as six days but maybe less: your login durations may appear random. Six days may be too long to avoid problems, we'll just have to see.

Still, your best defense is to log out when you have finished a session on the site.

Comments welcome. Jim.

We're added a new feature, the Cover Gallery, to the site. This page shows a timeline of your cover images, arranged according to the theatrical release date for each record in your collection. Your can reach your Cover Gallery from a link on your Profile page. If you're using a fluid-width skin, you can also reach it from a link under Member Pages in the left link bar.

You can see other the Cover Galleries of other Take11 users from the corresponding link on their Profile pages.

Two points about using the Cover Gallery: (a) To scroll through time, horizontally drag the background of the timeline field--like Google Maps. (b) If you add or delete movies, the changes should be reflected on the timeline after you reload the Cover Gallery page. If the Cover Gallery does not seem to be registering such changes, try clearing your browser's cache. The Cover Gallery functions because your browser is doing all the heavy lifting via JavaScript, and browsers are jealous about holding onto data that they've so carefully tucked away in cache.

Additional details can be found behind the yellow info button on the Cover Gallery page.

As always, if you encounter a problem, just email Jim.

Two new features have been added to Take11:

• a tour that introduces folks to the site and may expose some of the features,
• a page that lets you search for other registered Take11 users.

Please email me if any bugs or problems are uncovered in using these.  Thanks.   Jim

Support has been added so users can add to their collections by entering output from a Cuecat barcode reader. Support is for the original, unmodified Cuecat. Instructions for using a Cuecat are available on the site help page: www.take11.com/about/sitehelp.php#cuecat

Two fluid-width skins have been added to the site: Stark and Scorpius. Visitors can check them out using buttons on the splash page. Users can try them by selecting on the Preferences page (just click on the screen shots). The first time you try to change skins, you may need to clear your browser's cache so that out-dated code is removed.

Pages have been added to the site that let users write reviews of movies in their collections. Here's the relevant link: Reviews

The Netflix catalog has been added to the Take11 engine that obtains movie data, complementing the data provided by Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk. The Netflix catalog generally provides less details than Amazon about a particular DVD, but it does provide data about the movie that is not available from Amazon. (Note the subtle distinction between one dvd [i.e., one format of a given movie] and one movie [i.e., the artistic work, regardless of format]. For example, the Netflix catalog does not provide (a) names of producers, (b) EANs, or (c) theatrical release dates -- all of which are usually available from Amazon. But Netflix does provide (a) a synopsis, (b) genre listings, and (c) Netflix user ratings -- none of which are available from Amazon. In addition, the Netflix catalog usually provides the names of many more members of the cast, while Amazon limits the list to five per dvd.

So, the Netflix and Amazon data are complementary, and over the next few weeks we'll be developing ways to integrate data from the two sources. Stay tuned. ...  Jim

Take11 has teamed with TrialPay to offer free, one-year subscriptions to the Take11 online-cataloging service when users purchase another product or service through TrialPay. Details are posted on the Take11 site at www.take11.com/support/trialpay/howitworks.php.

More about TrialPay is available here: www.trialpay.com/productpage/

Two widgets are now available that users can add to their blogs and web pages. One widget lists the titles most recently added to a user's collection. The other lists the five titles most recently added to the entire Take11 catalog. Instructions for using these can be found here:

www.take11.com/support/widgets/

I hope some users will try these out and give us feedback....Jim

When downloading all or parts of a collection, users can now choose to restrict the download to any subset of the 25 fields on each record. See the download page: www.take11.com/usercollection/upanddownload.php 

Note that if you choose to upload a previously downloaded file, you should include the EAN field in the download because the EAN is used to identify and fetch cover images for newly added movies.

Jim

The list of tags has been moved from the user's Profile page to pages of their very own. A user's tags can be displayed alphabetically or in a ranked list based on percentiles of use in the user's collection.

Take11 will be offline for about an hour on Sunday 15 Feb 09, starting at 1000 EST (1500 UTC), for maintenance on the database.

Everything looks good for moving to the new server, so Take11 will be offline for about an hour starting at 1000 EST Sunday 08 Feb 09. Jim.

We are upgrading the Take11 site from the server in Phoenix to a more powerful server in San Antonio. The OS, site code, and user database are now installed on the new machine, and we will be testing the installation during the week of 01-07 Feb 09. Should all go well, the site will be offline for about an hour, starting at 1000 EST (UT - 0500) on Sunday 08 Feb 09, while we formally migrate to the new machine. All users are encouraged to backup their data before then. An update to this announcement will be posted here, hopefully sometime on the Friday before. As usual, incremental progress will be reported on Twitter.  Stay tuned.  Thanks.  Jim.

I hope nobody noticed that, for several hours Monday evening (19 Jan 09, EST), we were not able to search Amazon.com. Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk were functioning normally. Amazon was having serious problems with their .com web-service servers: pretty frustrating, but beyond our control. The web is a haphazard place, and the miracle, so it seems to me, is that most of it works pretty well, most of the time. Jim.

Users' movie data are backed up hourly on the Phoenix server and, up to now, a copy has been downloaded to one of Mitch's machines in Boston. Over the last couple of days we've implemented and tested a second download to a machine in sunny South Carolina. So that's three copies of user data sitting in very different parts of the US.

Nevertheless, users should backup their own collections. First, because Murphy is always with us: It is conceivable, however unlikely, that the Dark Side of the Force could corrupt all three copies of the user database. Second, because if you have been adding to your collection for some time in a session, and the server fails, you will lose your work since the server last backed up the database -- at most an hour's worth.

User backups should be straightforward:

(1) Go to http://take11.com/usercollection/upanddownload.php

(2) On the left of that page, click on download "My entire collection". A new file should appear on your Desktop. Depending on your OS, you may be prompted for a directory in which to save the file.

(3) Now, I suggest you do not open this file; leave it in pristine condition in case you need to use it to rebuild your collection.

(4) If you want to look at the backup file, say in MS Excel, make a copy of the original file and look at the copy.

(5) If at some future point, you need to rebuild your collection on the Take11 server, return to the Take11 page cited above in (1), browse on your machine to select your pristine original file, and click on the upload button.

You should backup your collection after every N records have been added, where N is the number of records you are willing to re-enter if any data are lost. Generally, N > 10 but < 100.

Oh, btw, the time since the server last backed up the user database is posted in the table at the top left of the About page, http://take11.com/about/

Users can now add a movie to their collections from a record in another user's collection. This is done from a link below the cover art on the ViewOneRecord (VOR) page. The VOR page can be accessed by going to another user's collection (from the Community page or from that user's Profile), then clinking on the title for the movie you want to add.

Once you've done the Add, you can Edit the new record to attach tags, comments, ratings, etc., in the usual way.

Thanks to user deamas for suggesting this feature.

We have expanded the resource database to include Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk. Select your preferred resource from the dropdown menu at the top of the Search box on the Add-To-My-Collection page.

Shoulda done this sooner.  Thanks to Eliza-Jane for the prod.

Ok, Folks, fixed the bug that was preventing an uploaded-cover image from sticking to the appropriate record. At least, it seems to work properly now, but I might not have thought of all the possible permutations to test.  Whew!  That was a subtle bug.

Thanks to the anonymous user who found this one.