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MAL Updater OS X is back from the dead, Sort of…

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Thanks to the help of Ratan12’s Atarashii API, which is a PHP implementation of the old unofficial MAL API, MAL Updater OS X is back from the dead. The end result…

Fullscreen

Yes, it even runs in OS X Yosemite GM 3

 

I had to make a few changes to the code as the new API handles things slightly differently, but for the most part it works. However, there are some limitations:

  • Twitter functionality does not work. This is due to Twitter updating their API, which in turn drop support for the old API. It will come back when I rewrite the application and it will use the built-in share function within OS X, meaning you can also share the viewing status on Facebook or other social networks OS X supports.
  • Edit Status causes the program to crash, at least in Yosemite. While the update goes through, it causes a segment fault and crashes. I will try to fix this minor bug when I have free time.
  • API now uses HTTPS, kudos to Cloudflare releasing Universal SSL for everyone

You can download the new version at http://malclientdev.chikorita157.com (If you have an old version, you need to reset the API URL Do this by going to Preferences > Reset API URL)

As for the rewrite, I have been putting the core functionality (view, search and update functions) in a reusable framework since I don’t expect the code to change much for that. Since the codebase is more than 3 years old and will take a good amount of effort to rewrite it to support the newer OS X SDK, I decided to rewrite the app in the new and shiny Swift programing language instead in entirely Objective C. This way, it will be easier to tack on new features while making it easier for me to code. This is the tentative list of functions I plan to add:

  • Basic information about the anime that just got updated
  • Streaming support via browser extension (User presses button and the program will automatically update the list)
  • Better detection support
  • List Management (from MAL Client OS X)
  • Localization support (English and Japanese are the only languages that I plan to support officially)

After the rewrite is done sometime in early 2015, MAL Updater OS X will require Mac OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 or higher or OS X Yosemite.

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MAL Client OS X 1.5 Beta 2 Released

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Second Beta release is now released (Version 1.5 Beta 2 or 1.5b2)

Changelog:
– Fixed Inline Updating for a series that have an unknown total episode count
– Removed unnecessary message box when manga status is updated
– Melative support added for Manga updating
– Interface Tweaks.

To install this update, go to Preferences > Misc and check “Check for Prerelease Builds” and then check for updates. This will show you the 1.5 Beta.

If you don’t have the software, you can download the beta here:
http://malclientosx.googlecode.com/files/malclientosx-1.5b2.zip

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Melative Library 0.9.8 Released

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This release is a bugfix release. This fixes some minor bugs including MAL Manga List importing. Manga List should import as it supposed to

Starting with 0.9.8 Windows Version, MelScrobble will be included with the package. This allows you to microblog or scrobble currently playing media from music players via AIMP or Media Player Classic. Requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, which should be installed on Windows Vista SP2 and Windows 7.

To download the latest release, click on the link below
http://code.google.com/p/melativelibrary/downloads/list

Melscrobble for Windows 0.1.2 Released

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Few days ago, I released a new MelScrobble for Windows. This fix addresses my booboos with the Scrobbling function because I can’t spell “attribute” right and adds new RegEx for Anime Detection so it will be more compatible with some weird file names. Note that “Episode” is no longer inserted in the Segment in Anime Detection. Episode will be inserted automatically when you post an update using that title.

To get the latest update, head over to the MelScrobble Github Download Page, download 0,.1.2 and install on top of the old version if it’s installed. Requires Windows XP SP3 with .NET Framework 3.5 Installed or Windows Vista SP2 or higher. AMIP plugins are needed for music detection.

Is Microsoft Dot Net really that bad as people put it?

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The answer is no. I have used Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 to build a Melative Scrobbler for Windows users in Visual Basic… The result… It took 2 1/2 days estimated to make a fully functional scrobbler that included music and anime detection and with Visual Basic 2008, it was pretty simple since the syntax is similar to RealBasic and I have used it back in 2006 when I was developing stuff on the same platform, except with a older version of Visual Studio.

The problem lies with people spreading FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) about Microsoft .NET. MAL Updater go so far and bashing it saying it uses too much memory and requires a user to install a 30 MB .NET Framework on the computer. However, it is not a big drawback at all. Here are some common FUD spread about .NET.

  1. .NET Uses too much memory! – This is bullshit on top of the gun. With my written application, MelScrobble, it only used around 8 MB – 11 MB on Windows 7, as much used in MAL Lite and also Melative Library, both programs that are not written in .NET, but in RealBasic 2009 which uses native code. Keep in mind that the memory shown in the Task Manager is not the actual memory used in the program since the newer versions of Windows preallocate the memory so that the program will run faster on the fly, just like in Mac OS X and Linux does with memory allocation.
  2. .NET is bloated and requires one to install a huge .NET framework: Also, another fear tactic used by anti-DOT NET users and is hardly a issue these days. Vista Service Pack 2 and 7 comes with .NET 3.5 preinstalled. The only people that are complaining are the Windows XP users… so just install it… Other programs are going to use it anyways.
  3. .NET is SLOW and Shitty: No it’s not… It runs just as fast for general purpose application. If you are writing a program that requires native code, you would be using C++ or C, not C# and VB.NET. It is hardly an issue since most people have fast computers and have 2-4 GB memory standard on their computers.
  4. Lastly, you aren’t developing programs, I am. You shouldn’t dictate to me what I should use or not.

Dot NET is a powerful platform and can also be used in Mono as well, meaning you can use it on Mac OS X, Linux, you name it… not just Windows… so I don’t see what is the fuss with Dot NET…. Not convinced still, I will write MelScrobble in Delphi 7 to prove a point, but believe me… it is not going to be any different from the one written in Visual Basic 2008.

Melative Library and MAL Client OS X Future

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Melative Library is close to being feature complete and a Release Candidate build should be out, depending on if there is going to be any more API changes (not likely). In the next versions of Melative Library for Windows and Mac OS X, they will include native scrobblers which I have been working on a while and will be included in the Disk Image/Installer by default. All you need to do is enter your login information and start using them. Also, with Ryan returning in April 21, Melative development should accelerate…

Now MAL Client OS X. Just a few days ago, Manga support have been added to the Unofficial MAL API as listed below:

13 April 2010
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* Added the following manga API methods – thanks to Guillaume Cassonnet (gcassonnet):
  * /mangalist – Read a manga list.
  * /mangalist/manga/manga_id – Add, update or delete a manga in a user’s manga list.
  * /manga/search – Search for manga.

Since MAL Client OS X doesn’t have Manga support built in yet since this change was committed yesterday, I will have to spend some time adding that support, but it shouldn’t be hard. I have to figure out how to do a switch between Anime/Manga and how to use the existing windows to achieve this. This may take two weeks to implement, but once it is added, a beta release will be released. To upgrade to this beta release once it is release, check the “Check for Prerelease Builds” in Misc under Preferences. This will make Sparkle Updater use the experimental Appcast instead of the stable branch. Once everything is stable, I will release it as a final build. The build that have Manga support will be marked version 1.5.

However, this won’t impact the Cocoa rewrite of MAL Client OS X since I haven’t done much work on it since I still need to learn Objective C and Cocoa.

MelScrobble 0.1.1 Alpha for Windows Released

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After an hour of figuring out how to obtain the playing file in Media Player Classic, I was able to do it with minimal work and some Regular Expressions tweaks, this is the final product shown in  the screenshot above. Basically, MelScrobble takes the recently playing info from Media Player Classic from the registry and then regex the stuff out so we only get the segment and the media title. Like with the Mac version, some files may not work properly because of how they are named, so you have to manually edit it out, which shouldn’t be that hard, but that is pretty rare when it happens.

If you having trouble with the detection feature for Anime, go to Media Player Classic and go to the Preferences. In general, the settings should look like this:

Afterwards, play the file again and use detect. It should work as it did on the screenshot.

People might be wondering, why Media Player Classic only. Media Player Classic is mostly used player for people who play fansubs since the CCCP (Community Combined Codec Pack, not Soviet Russia) installs this by default and is well supported with most of the popular video formats. Other player support will be added in the future once I figure it out, but this is pretty much it.

If you want to try it out, head to the MelScrobble’s Github Download Page. Windows XP SP3 or higher and .NET Framework 3.5 is required to operate the program. Also, the appropriate AMIP plugin needs to be installed to take advantage of music detection.

MelScrobble 0.1 for Windows Released

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Also works with Winamp

After hours of work, I got most of the functions down except Anime detection, which is a bit more complicated. Besides that, Music detection and manually typing in what you are watching works along with the scrobbling functions.

If you really want to test it out, the first alpha can be downloaded at MelScrobble’s Github Download Page. Once you download the file, click on the installer and follow the instructions. MelScrobble requires the .net Framework 3.5… It should be installed on Vista SP2 and 7, but XP users may have to install this if it is not installed already. The program will not run without it.

After you install it, find MelScrobble on the Start Menu and start it. Right click on the Melative Logo on the icon tray and click Settings. Click on the Login Tab and do what is shown below. It will verify your account info, create a cookie and save it in the Application. Your username and password is not saved in the program as a security measure.

To make the music detection working you need to install AMIP (Advanced mIRC Integration Plugin) to use the detection feature. It will support popular music players like Winamp, foobar2000 and iTunes (Yeah, iTunes… lol). Once you have installed the appropriate plugin, all you need to do is select “Music” from the media type menu and press detect. It should output the track name, album and artist. All you need is either type a message and scrobble/post it. If you attempt to detect an Anime mediatype, it won’t work since it is not implemented yet.

If you close the scrobble window, it will hide to the tray. Double click on the Melative Logo to bring it up again or right click and click on “Show/Hide Scrobble Window.” To exit the program, do the same, but select “Exit MelScrobble”

Anyways, the program itself is changing, so features are subject to change. Give suggestions on how to improve the program or such. If you encounter any bugs, file them at the project’s github.

MelScrobble for Windows on your way!

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As you might know already, I have been working on MelScrobbleX for quite awhile, but the only problem is that it only worked on Mac OS X and not everyone has Macs. RyanA’s ActionStatus is incompatible with Windows, so I decided to write one from scratch. This one will support media detection from Winamp/foobar2000 and Media Player Classic and written in Visual Basic .net 2008 Express. Yes, it does sound silly, but the interface will be exactly the same as MelScrobbleX. So far, I have done some major progress on it, but now slowed down because well, the detection is going to be different… but don’t worry, a alpha release will be release once I get it caught up to speed.

People can whine about .Net all they want… It’s included already if you are using Vista or 7… so it’s no excuse there… Also, I decided not to use RealBasic since I won’t be able to detect anything that way, so my only choice was Visual Basic .Net, like it or not… Anyways, if you want to experiment on what I’m doing, the source can be obtained from github and licensed under the GNU Public License V3. All you need is Visual Basic 2008 Express the bare minimum to compile.

MelScrobbleX 0.1 Alpha Released

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I finally decided to release MelScrobbleX at its current state so I can release my work. Currently, most the functions will work without any problems, with some minor flaws. I know it’s not perfect, but someday, it will become better as time goes on. If you decide to install and try for yourself, leave Sparkle to update the program automatically since I will be pushing updates as the program gets better.

If you wish to try, see the project’s Github Download Page. Download the zip and unzip it. Run the program. You notice that if you try to post something, it will complain that there is no user info stored. To set the user infos, click on the Melative Logo, which will be located with the rest of the MenuExtras > Preferences. Click on Login and type your Username and Password. Save the login info. This will verify your account and if it’s successful, saves it to your Keychain. To remove the login, click Remove Login and read the instructions. This program is obviously meant for personal computers since it requires a Keychain. I will try and add some other method of login to solve this problem.

If you don’t want the Scrobble Window to show every time you want to start up, that setting is in General. Uncheck the “Show Scrobble Window at Startup” and when you relaunch the program, the Scrobble window will not show up anymore.

When you are playing an Anime or Music and want to make a post about it, press detect with the appropriate mediatypes. Anime will detect what is playing in MPlayer OS X Extended and Music will detect what is currently playing in iTunes. Beware that with some fansubs, depending on how its named will affect the output for the media title and segment. In most cases, it should output correctly.

Next versions of MelScrobble will have a improved interface and probably take advantage of imediabrowser.framework so you can select any iTunes track from your library and scrobble it without needing to have it playing in iTunes. If you encounter any bugs, please report them on the project’s Github page.

MelScrobbleX requires Mac OS X 10.5 or higher. PPC and Intel Compatible.

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