Announcing hash.to

Late last year I released the first version of my latest project – http://hash.to – a url shortener written in Java.

It’s pretty basic in terms of the functionality on offer at the moment but I decided to release the MVP rather than wait until I’d got round to implementing the rest of the functionality.

I know there are plenty of really good URL shortener services already out there but as a developer I wanted to create my own for a few reasons.

• See if it was possible to create one in Java
• Learn a different Java web framework along the way
• Finally get round to using UrlRewrite in a project
• Buy myself a really short URL
• Create some web services that other developers can use
• Above all else to see if I could!

As I mentioned it’s written in Java; Struts 2 is used as the web framework, Hibernate for ORM, UrlRewrite to manage the URL design, MySQL as the database behind the service all running in Apache Tomcat on a VPS from Bytemark.

I’m looking for as many people as possible to test/use the service and provide some feedback and right now you can get yourself some really short URL’s!

I’ve also created a blog on Tumblr for the service which I’ll keep up to date with any changes to the service.

The Kindle

(Note: I started this post before getting a Kindle for Christmas.)

I’m very intrigued by the Amazon Kindle.

Up until now I hadn’t been tempted by any of the ebook readers available, a couple of things put me off. The price of those available in stores such as Waterstones and the doubt in my mind that the experience would be just as good as reading a book. This is quite strange in itself as I usually I don’t need much persuasion to want a new gadget!

Reading the reviews of it by Matt & Mark have, ever so slowly, increased the desire to own one. Especially Mark’s article, before reading it I was probably guilty of lumping the Kindle & iPad in the same category.

I don’t really travel that much compared to others in work but when I do I like to read on the plane, I’ve never been one for just listening to music. On the last few trips I’ve found myself struggling to decide which books to take with me, and slowly realised this is the huge benefit of having an ebook reader like the Kindle.

The price of the Kindle is another major selling point, at £109 £111 even if I don’t find it as good as reading a normal book it’s not a huge lose.

I’m intrigued enough to actually purchase one.

• Using MySQL as a NoSQL. Impressive results by bypassing SQL and using HandlerSocket plugin, maybe RDBMS do have a future in large scale solutions. (0) #

• On Working Remotely. Excellent article on working remotely in a development team and how to make it work. (0) #

• The Force of Typography. Very, very cool! (0) #

• Three Mobile-Software Rules. For Android but could be applied to more than just the Android platform. Things I have to remember when I eventually get round to developing an app for Android. (0) #

• Google and Microsoft Cheat on Slow-Start. Should You?. This caught my attention as I’m currently studying towards the CCNA. Some of the most popular sites on the Internet appear to be employing tweaks at the lower layers of the networking stack to speed them up. (0) #

• Open Source CMS Dominate the Market. If your interested in Content Management Systems this is well worth a read, lots of useful information contained in the report. For some reason CMS has always been a software market I’ve kept tabs on. (0) #

• The Oracle Lawsuit Will End with Google Owning Java. A fairly old article now but it’s still a very interesting view on the outcome of the Oracle vs. Google lawsuit. I see this as a positive outcome if it were to happen. (0) #

• The Setup. Geek interviews of people and what they use to get the job done. Nice to see what other people use day to day in terms of hardware & software. (0) #