Deltik : News

We're Still Here...

Deltik — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 16:50:58 -0500

Windows	Mac	Linux

We're Still Here
Deltik's top priority project, Log2Log, is still very active. We're working on it as hard as we can and will continue to do so until it's production-ready.

What's Taking So Long?
Don't believe that we're working hard on it? See for yourself!

Creating a chat log converter is by no means easy. Me? I want Log2Log to be released as soon as possible without sacrificing the originally intended enterprise-grade quality. In order to do that, I have to learn C++ and the Qt framework on-the-fly while programming Log2Log.

Log2Log was intended to be released at the end of August 2011. The development team has underestimated how much work it would take to create it, but don't let that get you down. I really, really, really want Log2Log ready for people by the end of this month, September 2011.

What Works
Surely we have made some progress in the several weeks of persistent development. This is the rundown of what works in Log2Log as of 10 September 2011:

Fully capable of reading files from a directory, feeding them through the format converters, and saving the converted files
Interface shows what data may be lost in the conversion process (formats don't store the same data)
Feature to "Check for Updates"

But there are a plethora of things that don't work:

Most of the planned format converters have not been created yet.

Detailed Priorities
As of 08 September 2011, here are the priorities for development of Log2Log format converters:

Pidgin HTML -- Log2Log was originally created on 01 January 2011 with this format in mind. Pidgin HTML is complicated, and if I can create a good format converter for it, the others can easily fall in place.
Meebo (download) -- This was the reason why I wanted to create Log2Log. The format would be very easy to convert to and from, but there is a major problem to solve: The chat logs must be downloaded from a remote server. The code for doing this already exists, but originally, I had made it in a different programming language, PHP. It's now a matter of porting it to the language that Log2Log is now programmed in, C++.
Log2Log JSON (standardized export) -- For advanced purposes, I intend to create this format converter. Theoretically, this should take only minutes to create because it directly exports what Log2Log already does in the background.
Trillian -- Trillian stores its chat logs in XML format. Pidgin HTML is also like XML, so with that established foundation, I should have no problem creating a format converter to and from Trillian.
Windows Live Messenger -- By input from an eagerly waiting person, I'll create the Windows Live Messenger format converter. I looked at the chat log format, which was XML as well. Since Pidgin HTML will have been completed by the time I start working on this format converter, it should be very easy to read this format.
AIM -- Also by request, I intend AIM to be the sixth format converter I make. AIM chat logs are in HTML, and they resemble Meebo chat logs, but they're somewhat more detailed. It seems rather easy to create this format converter as well.
Skype -- Personally, I also want a Skype format converter. There is a major frustration, though. Skype thought that it would be funny to create their own eccentric chat log format. The format makes absolutely no logical sense at all, but all the data exists. In order to read it, I have to drop down to a very primitive level and scan the binary data. I started work on it in PHP, but once again, I have to port it to C++ because Log2Log is now written in C++.

Loguntu
Loguntu has been envisioned, and some planning has been done. As for a server to host Loguntu on, we are trying to secure one by 04 October 2011.

Thank You

Igor Cardoso — still sticking with the Log2Log project
John — for helping us know what to work on next in the development of Log2Log

Chat Log Management Is Up To Us

Deltik — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:07:13 -0500

The world no longer has a
chat log converter

The Bad News
As of this post, wherever you look, even on Google, you probably can't find anything that will convert the chat logs that you want to convert.

You: "Is it possible to import pidgin chat logs to empathy? If so, how?"
Us: "Actually, yes. Here you go. Bad example. :\"

You: "Is it possible to make my skype chat logs readable? If so, how?"
Us: "Today, nah. To make that possible, we are in the process of making Log2Log, a program that can read and save your Skype chat logs into something readable."

You: "Is it possible to download a copy of my chat logs from gmail? If so, how?"
Us: "Oh no! You can't, at least not in an easy way. The Internet is missing something that people are looking for. Deltik has founded the Log2Log project to allow you to get chat logs that you previously thought were locked in the grasp of someone else."

You: "Is it possible to keep my chat logs synced with me everywhere I go?"
Us: "Nope. Good idea, though. We're going to make Loguntu, a system that will allow you to store chat logs in one central location that's convenient for you."

The Good News
We are going to take the matters into our hands. Deltik has two fresh projects, prioritized sequentially:

Log2Log Chat Log Converter
Loguntu Online Storage

Log2Log Chat Log Converter
This will be the most advanced chat log converter ever, even surpassing the good work that Chat Log Converter+ did when it existed. Unfortunately, the creator, UFGrayMatter, no longer maintains it. This is why the Internet doesn't have a universal chat log converter anymore. :(

But Log2Log will be more than just a chat log converter. Here are three challenging tasks that Log2Log is planned to take on:

Google won't let you download your chat logs you stored while chatting on gChat. Using Log2Log, you can securely sign in to Gmail and download your gChat logs without ever giving your password nor data to anyone, not even Deltik.
Meebo is a meanie and refuses to create a feature to let you download your chat logs. Log2Log can hop on Meebo and gather all your logs without ever leaking your personal information to anyone.
Skype is a weirdo and stores chat logs in some inefficient and freakish way. Log2Log can read it all, and reassemble the logs so that they can be compatible with all the other IM clients.

Loguntu Online Storage
That's not all. I personally use two IM clients, Pidgin and Meebo. It would be a pain to have to run Log2Log often to copy my new conversations from Meebo to Pidgin.

Loguntu aims to become the first online storage system for chat logs. The chat logs get stored in one central place that you choose. All the file storage services I know sync files to their own servers, like Dropbox or Ubuntu One. Loguntu will support a variety of locations, so you can choose where to store things.

Dropbox, Ubuntu One, Box.net, Windows Live SkyDrive, and more — Ain't nothin' like an old-fashioned simple storage method.
FTP — Have you got an FTP server? FTP is easy for Loguntu and you!
SSH — If you're really fancy and have an SSH server, Loguntu can handle that too.
750 Words — This wouldn't be the wisest choice, but hey, storing chat logs isn't against Buster's terms of service, and there is no clear limitation on his free text storage service.
Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, GMX — Hey, you know your email provider offers you a lot of storage. Idea?
Loguntu — Deltik may even host your chat logs for you! We may be able to offer you some space for free, but we also know that many of you have a grand history. For a low monthly fee, Deltik can host your files with extra storage and features.

I'm still not done. Why specialize Loguntu for chat logs only? You should be able to store normal files, too! When Loguntu has fulfulled its purpose as chat log storage, file storage wherever you want would be a cool feature.

Okay, last thing. Loguntu should team up with Log2Log and synchronize your chat logs! This here is a major challenge. Let's say you have some meetings on Skype, then chat with some friends on Gmail, and you pull up Adium on your Mac for a few days. Using Log2Log by Loguntu, your chat logs can be kept up-to-date with all your clients (if possible) by using the Log2Log Standard Chat Log Format.

When Can I Get All This Awesomeness???
>_< ... O_O
Okay, so this is completely new territory for Deltik—so new that Deltik has no idea how to make any of those things yet.
This will take a long while... unless... you help! Yes, we can really use your help. No, I'm not asking for donations. If you're a computer programmer who's willing to help with the Log2Log and/or Loguntu project, please, contact us!

By kind support by some other developers, I'm setting a tentative date of the end of August 2011 for the launch of an awesome Log2Log Chat Log Converter.

Priorities (as of 24 June 2011)

Log2Log — support for downloading Meebo chat logs (This was why Log2Log was created in the first place.)
Log2Log — support for more protocols, including Pidgin, Empathy, Adium, Skype, Trillian, Digsby, Kopete, more, and hopefully all the major protocols
Loguntu — saving chatlogs and integration with Log2Log
Loguntu — file storage
Loguntu — storage on Deltik as Loguntu

Special Thanks To:

UFGrayMatter — Whoever you are, you inspired me to make the Log2Log/Loguntu chat log management solution. :)
Igor Cardoso — for supporting the Log2Log project
George Nassar — for wanting to help the Log2Log project

Log2Log Restructured

Deltik — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 05:37:57 -0500

Deltik does not know
what to put in the center
this time.

The Problem
Log2Log is programmed in PHP, a language that is not optimized for Log2Log's purpose. PHP isn't designed to handle files, especially not large and plentiful ones.

The Solution
In the end, the best solution is to port Log2Log to a multiplatform desktop software.

Advantages:

safer — As desktop software, your sensitive data such as chat logs will no longer need to be sent insecurely over the Internet. Your data sticks with you, and Internet access is only needed for Log2Log services such as MeeboConnect or Loguntu.
faster — Information doesn't need to be sent through the Internet to be processed by PHP. Instead, it'll all be done on your computer.
more reliable — No more relying on an online service, which could go down at any time. With Log2Log as desktop software, it'll be ready when you are.
convenient — Instead of going to a webpage, Log2Log would conveniently be a desktop application.
accessible — Log2Log would be right there on your computer, ready for you at all times.

Disadvantages:

There are disadvantages? O_o

Dedicated to IsMyWebsite
Hey Matt,
Yeesh, I didn't mean to make you rant like that.
In response to your blog post,

They had a script driving up the server load consistently for about 5 minutes to 2.00+

(That would be Log2Log v0.0.1a4.)

... I overhaul the Log2Log project and start anew with the solution specified above.

Deltik Is Hosted on Almighty Servers

Deltik — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 13:16:45 -0500

Deltik is now hosted on
Almighty Servers

What's New?

Deltik has moved onto a shared webhost and a VPS, provided by Almighty Servers.
Our previous webhost, IsMyWebsite, has pretty much committed suicide. We're outta there.

What This Means for You
You can expect Deltik to be much more stable and have less downtime. (No guarantees; it's possible that I can accidentally botch up something because I'm not used to the new provider..)
Also, Deltik should load faster now. The new hosting provider outperforms our old one.

What This Means for Us
With most of the capabilities of a real server available to us, it is now possible for us to create, host, and run completely new types of programs and scripts on the VPS. It doesn't have to be all on Deltik Area 51 anymore. We are now in near-full control of what we run.
As for the main Deltik website, for simplicity purposes, we are still on a shared host. For the most part, Deltik is expected to perform normally.

MuSeSPinger v3.0.0

Deltik — Fri, 20 May 2011 20:00:04 -0500

Our oldest project
MuSeSPinger
gets a major upgrade!

Huh? What's MuSeSPinger?
MuSeSPinger stands for Multiple Server Status Pinger. You can check websites to see if they are online or offline by the masses.

Why We Made MuSeSPinger
Wa-a-ay back in 2008, Deltik was hosted on a webhost called IsMyWebsite. IsMyWebsite was a unique webhost in that it had 16 servers called nodes. The nodes hosted different websites. We created a tool called IsMyWebsite Node Status Checker (IMWNSC), which was a hard-coded system that checked the status of all the nodes.

Over time, IMWNSC evolved from its narrow purpose into MuSeSPinger. MuSeSPinger was then improved and expanded.

The First of Its Kind
You may think that we have reinvented the wheel because there are plenty of other services that check to see whether a website is online like Down For Everyone Or Just Me? and CheckSite.us.
MuSeSPinger is the first and only service that can:

check multiple URLs at the same time,
render an image that shows the status of multiple URLs, and
use a mirror network to check multiple URLs.

In addition to those unique core features, MuSeSPinger has:

a streamlined interface,
its source code available to anyone,
three different methods of checking URLs,
a user-friendly administration control panel, and
almost three years of dedicated support from Deltik.

What's New?
See the changelog for yourself!
Or if you're too lazy:

3.0.0 (2011/05/20)
  - NEW: Completely rewritten
  - NEW: Redesigned interface
  - NEW: cURL and file_get_contents for server status checking
  - NEW: MuSeSPinger network for worldwide server status checking
  - NEW: Option to render without the network: "Work Locally"
  - NEW: Status icons for "online with problems" and "status unavailable"
  - NEW: No JavaScript compatibility
  - NEW: "Report Problem" link
  - NEW: Administration control center for modifying configuration
  - NEW: Fetch MuSeSPinger news from Deltik
  - MOD: URL input uses line breaks instead of spaces.
  - MOD: Remade status icons
  - MOD: Foreign language support removed
  - MOD: Automatic update system removed
  - MOD: 'update' directory re-purposed to MuSeSPinger news
  - MOD: Implemented GNU GPL License

Links

The Cure for Immaturity

Deltik — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:33:21 -0500

Deltik is working on:

The Cure for Immaturity

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a fun remedy for that whiner in the cubicle behind you or that weird kid who wants world domination?

Note
This project is still a work in progress as of this news post. It has some... stuff... but at this early stage of release, there's only a basic introduction.

What This Document Contains

Learn about how an unofficial disorder, immaturity, works and affects people.
How to survive annoying people
Find out how to get back at those annoying people! There's also a chance of curing them while you're getting your revenge.
See tips on self-help if you have immaturity.
And more...

Why We Are Researching This
Long story short: Immaturity is a big problem in the world, and it isn't recognized by any real health organization. Try to find it if you don't believe me: World Health Organization, Mayo Clinic, National Institutes of Health

Links:

"The Cure for Immaturity" by Deltik
Oppositional defiant disorder on Wikipedia
Conduct disorder on Wikipedia
Antisocial personality disorder on Wikipedia

Third Birthday of the Deltik Website

Deltik — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 23:00:00 -0500

On 31 March 2011, Deltik turned
3
years old!

Really?
Yes.

Deltik History in a Nutshell
The concept of Deltik was formulated on 31 March 2008 at 11:18 AM CDT. It was called DELTA Burnt Programming, later to be known as DELTA Burnt, then Delta Burnt, then DelTIk, then Deltik. Delta Burnt was a non-profit Texas Instruments graphing calculator programming group.
The DELTA Burnt Website began to be created on 01 April 2008 and was finally set up on 08 April 2008.

On 07 April 2008, DELTA Burnt became Delta Burnt, which was a non-profit programming, gaming, and graphics design team.
At the beginning of June 2008, Delta Burnt became DelTIk. The name DelTIk was a portmanteau of Delta, TI, and a k for "calculator".
By the next month, July 2008, DelTIk lost its capitalization of "TI" as development on Texas Instruments calculators stopped and became Deltik.

For the first year of Deltik's life, it was extremely unstable. In the end, Deltik collapsed in May 2009 along with their fourth webhost, The Web World. Internal conflict and poor management led to the ruin of Deltik.

For the second year of Deltik's life, it was just another region of the Internet. Deltik served no purpose that year and was used primarily to host miscellaneous test scripts.

Plans to rennovate Deltik were made on 04 February 2011 and were carried out thusly. The goal was to deploy a completely redesigned Deltik by 31 March 2011, its third birthday anniversary.

What's New

1. We Have A Direction
Deltik is a place where creative minds like you think up and make computer programs, Web scripts, or other unique and awesome stuff that nobody has ever thought of before.

2. New Management
Deltik is now operated by people of the right ilk. No more internal conflict nor aimless struggling!

3. Community Restarted
The general public of Deltik has been pruned and restarted. The majority shall no longer have eccentric people!

4. I Want It My Way
To start off Deltik, I want to take charge of exactly how I want things to work. I have taken to my own custom development work, unlike previously, where complete strangers were asked to make something vague.
There is now a site theme that I have redesigned to look the way I want it to.

5. Organized Design
I have made a well-thought out layout of Deltik. Although some parts of the design are not favored by preliminary surveys, I feel that upon application, the design would be rather sturdy and somewhat flexible.
Deltik was built around the content management system e107, and even then, I have made sure to allow space to be able to pluck e107 out and put in something else in the future. The code was made to accommodate change.

6. Ready to Govern
Deltik now has an established Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and Acceptable Use Policy. With fair rules in place now, Deltik is prepared to handle non-compliance situations.

7. Starter Material
I have made and released my own creations, such as Chatbot Unified Graphical User Interface <http://products.deltik.org/pub/aigui/>, Log2Log Chat Log Converter <http://products.deltik.org/pub/log2log/>, Multiple Server Status Pinger <http://products.deltik.org/pub/musespinger/>, and PHP History Hider <http://products.deltik.org/pub/phphistoryhider/>.
Deltik is a place where people can create novel things like the four listed above. Deltik is here to support user contributions of inventions.

8. New Focus
No longer is Deltik focused on internal conflict and selfishness. Deltik is now concerned about helping the users, whom are our bright inventors and idealists.

9. The New Webmaster
Me, Nick! Inspired by Dale Carnegie, I have become a much better person. I can handle complaints, avoid arguments, keep human communication satisfactory, think new thoughts, acquire new visions, and get things done better.

10. The All-New Deltik
Deltik's third birthday anniversary is on 31 March 2011. We've been around a long time, but it hadn't taken off in all that time... until now.
For Deltik's third year of life, it's time to start right this time! Let's go!

Log2Log Chat Log Converter

Deltik — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 19:20:00 -0500

Deltik is finally ready to present:
Log2Log

... an online service that converts uploaded chat logs to another format and returns the new format to the user.

Before You Even Think About Using It
You probably can't, at least not as of this post, 21 March 2011. Log2Log is on version 0.0.1a1, which is a very early development release. There are bound to be problems and bugs everywhere. We have acknowledged many of them and would like to fix them, but we're quite excited to get the first release of Log2Log out to you.

Why We Made Log2Log
Alright, everybody! Storytime!

I, Deltik, love to use Meebo as my mobile Internet messenger. Meebo isn't "good", in my opinion, but one thing that made me choose Meebo over other services was that it has the ability to store chat logs. Now, don't argue "But IM+ saves chat logs too!". Firstly, back then, IM+ didn't save chat logs. Secondly, Meebo didn't cost me a penny. Anyway, I used Meebo often.

Over time, I became increasingly concerned that Meebo did not have a feature to download chat logs. As a personal data hog, I urgently need to have my chat logs with me where I can protect them from harm. Finally, one day, 21 November 2010 at 09:52 PM, I contacted Meebo support to request a feature that had been requested plenty of times before—the ability to download Meebo chat logs. Take a look at my conversation with Meebo Support.

One day, 01 January 2011, I reached my frustration threshold and founded the Log2Log project. (It was officially named on 02 January 2011 at 07:50 PM, a candidate among "AdapChat", "Online Chat Log Converter", and "Log2Log".)

After over two and a half months of work, I finally reverse-engineered Meebo and created a fully automated system that can download all Meebo chat logs.

That's not all, folks. I thought that since I was going to convert Meebo chat logs to the format of my current IM client, Pidgin, I might as well expand Log2Log to a full online chat log conversion service.

In a nutshell, there was a primary reason and a secondary reason for making Log2Log:

To download Meebo chat logs
To be a better chat log converter than Chat Log Converter+ by using better algorithms

What Works

You can use the "MeeboConnect" user interface to download Meebo chat logs. Click here to go there.
You can use "MeeboConnect" to download all the chat logs from your Meebo account. Click here to go do that.
You can do a export MeeboConnect to the raw Meebo chat log format (not recommended). Click here to go do that.
You can convert to Pidgin chat logs, even from MeeboConnect. Click here to go do that.
You can download the source code Log2Log. Click here to go do that.

Links
Log2Log-related links:

Help Us!
Deltik is looking for volunteers who would like to help expand Log2Log. Contact Deltik if you would like to help.

Welcome to Deltik

Deltik — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 18:48:14 -0600

Deltik is proud to present...

... a place where creative minds like you think up and make computer programs, Web scripts, or other unique and awesome stuff that nobody has ever thought of before.

Mission Statement
Deltik is commited to provide quality benefit to the world with what we have. It is our mission to support the brilliant inventors who stumble upon here, brainstormers, thinkers, idealists, builders, and makers. We strive to disseminate our products, services, and useful information.

How We Work
You tell us. It's kind of like "You tell us what to make, and we'll make it." Not really, though... It's more like "You tell us what to make, and we'll help you make it if we can and think that it's a good idea."

Not like this: "Make me a pet unicorn!"
In response to that request, Deltik issued the following suggestion: "The Deltik Organization regrets to inform you that we do not have the resources to make you a pet unicorn. Instead, we have a suggestion for you to be able to model a unicorn: try inserting a knife or dagger through the head of a horse, preferably an already dead one. That way, you can see the basic physical features of a unicorn without actually having one."

But like this: "You know what? I am really annoyed by immature people. What can you do about them?"
Then Deltik would procede thusly: "Dealing with immaturity by yourself is something that isn't established in the world today and could be a huge help to society if everyone knew what to do. We have taken your idea of surviving immature people, and now, we have our unconventional Psychology team working on a fix for you. It's doable; we think that we can cure immaturity."

We make stuff too: "I would like an interface to create online practice tests for my students."
And Deltik to the rescue!: "There are already graphical assessment generators out there, such as the Quiz activity module of the Moodle Course Management System, but we feel that such tools existing today could be redesigned to be better. That is why we founded and support Kweshuner Quiz Script, our way of generating assessments."

Deltik wouldn't function without good people backing it. We can't do everything by ourselves, so we let you take command of your own designs and projects. Well, why even bother if you just take over yourself?

You get to control how your projects are developed, so there's no way Deltik can misinterpret exactly what you want.
You get backing from Deltik. Deltik will give personal-level support for the fantastic contraptions that you design and build.
There is also a community right here to help you or receive help from you. Yes, it's this central location called Deltik.
Deltik provides the resources for you to easily deploy many of your completed products.
You might be surprised at how many people want to use some ingenious thing you create. Deltik can help get the word out to people.

Enough Text for Now
We maintain a Wikipedia-style documentation site that amasses whatever is inside Deltik. For more information, see Deltik Docs.
You could also browse the navigation pane just to see what's around.
Off you go! Explore the realm of Deltik!