Monkey Server 0.97 (2011-04-10) [MM3] w/Squeezebox Support

[jednie]

When I right click on the tray icon to confirm what version i have, it says : 0.9.4.25762 (2010-02-24)
When I check for updates, it tells me I already have the most recent version.
So

1) Is the most recent version" message correct and I have 0.95, but it is simply dispalying an version number?
or
2) Is the most recent version" message incorrect and I have 0.94, , ie it is correctly displaying the version number?... in which case how do I get the most recent version 0.95 (2010-05-21) ?

If you click don't update when the update message appears a second prompt will appear asking you if you want to be reminded of this update the next time that you start Monkey Server. If you select no here then you will no longer be prompted to update. Use the link below to download the latest update.

http://www.bendablebytes.com/downloads/ ... update.exe

Also, when is the next release planned???

I am planning on releasing the next version in the next few weeks. I am done making changes but the changes are pretty significant so I have a lot of testing to do.

jednie

[MediaMan]

1) Updated version - thanks for thw explanation and the update links. Works now!. Suggestion - can you add an option on the Help Screen beloq Check for Updates, for Update Now ( or soemthing like that), that launches that link?

2) Can the Version Number be displayed somewhere on the screen? Perhaps on the far right? ie User Name:MediaMan Ver: 0.95

3) Is the next version going to handle flac files?

[jednie]

1) Updated version - thanks for thw explanation and the update links. Works now!. Suggestion - can you add an option on the Help Screen beloq Check for Updates, for Update Now ( or soemthing like that), that launches that link?

That sounds good. Thanks for the suggestion.

2) Can the Version Number be displayed somewhere on the screen? Perhaps on the far right? ie User Name:MediaMan Ver: 0.95

Yes. I am planning on adding this to the web screens.

3) Is the next version going to handle flac files?

I can look into this. I don't use flac so can you tell me what problems you are having with it?

jednie

[MediaMan]

3) Is the next version going to handle flac files?

I can look into this. I don't use flac so can you tell me what problems you are having with it?
jednie

FLAC - I thought the issue was that while Monkey Server works with FLAC files now, it relies on a player being installed on the client ( eg MediaMonkey), That's fine in many cases, but when on a remote machine that may not have MediaMoney installed, and launching Monkey Server on that remote machine via a URL (as is the whole purpose), the FLAC fiiles would not play.

In the past, if I recall, you were trying to figure out how to address this. I think for mp3 files you said it was a not issue, and you could stream it via a mp3 player as part of Monkey Server, but doing the same with flac files might be a challenge.

In the worst cae, as a workaround
a) die-hard Monkey Server lovers would simply keep a second set ( ouch) of files in Mp3 format, or
b) users could filter on MP3 files only (which I think is a wish list item for Monkey Server)

[jednie]

3) Is the next version going to handle flac files?

I can look into this. I don't use flac so can you tell me what problems you are having with it?
jednie

FLAC - I thought the issue was that while Monkey Server works with FLAC files now, it relies on a player being installed on the client ( eg MediaMonkey), That's fine in many cases, but when on a remote machine that may not have MediaMoney installed, and launching Monkey Server on that remote machine via a URL (as is the whole purpose), the FLAC fiiles would not play.

I think I would have to put an embedded media player on the web pages for this to work. I have plans to do this at some point but it hasn't bubbled up to the top yet.

In the past, if I recall, you were trying to figure out how to address this. I think for mp3 files you said it was a not issue, and you could stream it via a mp3 player as part of Monkey Server, but doing the same with flac files might be a challenge.

I have made a lot of changes under the hood and one of my goals is design Monkey Server in such a way that it will support plug-ins. My focus has been on providing support for media library applications other than MediaMonkey but I can see allowing for plug-ins that would convert the media before sending it to the browser. To satisfy this need there would have to be a flac-to-mp3 plug-in. I am not sure if this is possible with doing further research but it seems like a possibility.

In the worst cae, as a workaround
a) die-hard Monkey Server lovers would simply keep a second set ( ouch) of files in Mp3 format, or
b) users could filter on MP3 files only (which I think is a wish list item for Monkey Server)

I could actually do this without too much difficult by providing a client setting (stored as a cookie) that would tell Monkey Server to only display certain types of files.


Thanks again,
jednie

[MediaMan]

[quote="MediaManI] In the worst case, as a workaround
a) die-hard Monkey Server lovers would simply keep a second set ( ouch) of files in Mp3 format, or
b) users could filter on MP3 files only (which I think is a wish list item for Monkey Server)

I could actually do this without too much difficult by providing a client setting (stored as a cookie) that would tell Monkey Server to only display certain types of files.jednie [/quote][/quote][/quote]

WORKAROUND 1 - Yes, the type-of-file client setting would certainly suffice.
WORKAROUND 2 - Another suggestion is to show visually which tracks are MP3 are which are not. Perhaps a greyed-out or unfilled PLAY symbol.

[jonp]

I have been testing out Monkey Server and think it is great -thanks. I tried accessing it from work and could not because my work firewall blocks most ports. I decided to change the port Monkey Server uses to 443 which I know is allowed through my works firewall. Problem is that once I changed the port in Monkey Server to 443, Monkey Server crashed and I can not restart it. It crashes every time I try and restart it (Windows 7). Is the port written somewhere I can manually edit (registry, txt file etc).

[jednie]

I have been testing out Monkey Server and think it is great -thanks. I tried accessing it from work and could not because my work firewall blocks most ports. I decided to change the port Monkey Server uses to 443 which I know is allowed through my works firewall. Problem is that once I changed the port in Monkey Server to 443, Monkey Server crashed and I can not restart it. It crashes every time I try and restart it (Windows 7). Is the port written somewhere I can manually edit (registry, txt file etc).

Delete the following file and it should be recreated the next time you start. Your path may be slightly different. You will have to re-enter settings after doing this.

C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Bendable Bytes\Monkey Server\data\settings.dat

jednie

[jonp]

Yep that worked. Thanks

[jednie]

I have posted a new version that contains many new features. I will attempt to explain each new feature below:

Multiple image support

Monkey Server will now display embedded images and also images that exist in the same directory as the music file.

Context menu changes

Trying to click the menu icon in order to display the context menu took too much effort so I got rid of the icon and now instead display the context menu when you click anywhere on the text.

New search/Modify search

You can now start a new search or modify an existing search by just using the context menu

Context menu now appears on clouds

This allows you to easily start a new search or modify an existing search.

Customizable Web Menu

The Web Menu provides links to other Internet sites that display information relating to what you have clicked on.

New Album view

The new album view contains thumbnail images of the albums. Because the thumbnails are generated "on the fly" it may take a while if you have your album view is configured to display a large number of results. Use the client settings form to configure how many columns and rows you want to see on the album view.

SSL Support

Enabling SSL is somewhat complicated as you have to generate your own self signed certificate but I have included directions on how to do this here:

http://bendablebytes.com/forum/index.php?topic=2.0

Query result caching

This makes navigating pages of search results faster. I still need to do more work on this as browsing a large catalog takes a bit longer to display the first page.

New Client Settings

optional cloud

You can now turn off the cloud display

display cloud counts

A number will display next to each cloud item indicating the item's count

Templates and Themes

This release enabled the use of Templates and Themes. These are selected on the login screen.

New Remote template

This template is meant to work like a remote control on mobile devices for those who use the remote control feature of Monkey Server. It is bare bones and doesn't include much additional functionality in this release.

New themes

There are server themes for each template that mostly just modify the color and fonts used.

Session viewer

I added this mostly for debugging but you can use it to see who is logged in and you can manually log them off.

Request logging

You can now enable logging to see what is being accessed on Monkey Server. I also added this for debugging but you could also use this for security purposes to make sure no one is accessing it who shouldn't be able to.

Separate Library and Player configs

I have attempted to decouple the Library and Player features so that support can be added for other media libraries and players. I have include support for several additional libraries and players however you probably won't use them if you have Media Monkey.

Customizable fields

You can now add fields to the search results, search form and clouds. To make additional fields available you have to go to the library settings form and enable the field.

Template configuration

You can now modify the template by using the template settings form which is accessible from the main settings form. The default template can be modified using this form to modify search result fields, search form fields and clouds. You can also customize the Web Menu by using this form.

Create/Delete Playlists

The user must have Playlist Maintenance permission in order to use these functions

Setup Wizard

Because there are many more features now this allows a new user to get setup and running quickly.

Added Update Now to Help menu

This provides a means to download the latest update without checking to see if an update is really needed.

Scrollable cloud area

When the cloud contained many items the display required too much scrolling so the cloud area is now a fixed size.

Collapsible search form

With the ability to add new fields to the search form it seemed to take up too much vertical space so you can now collapse it and it will only show several search fields plus and search fields that are currently being used.

[mcow]

Like several people posting in this topic, I want MonkeyServer for the remote interface to the running version of MediaMonkey, not to play files on the remote computer (which is a handheld). I'm pretty unhappy because you are requiring Admin privs to run your program.

I'm running on WindowsXP/64. MediaMonkey runs under my non-Admin user login, and that is how it is going to stay. Naturally, that means that MonkeyServer can't control MediaMonkey, which makes it pretty much useless. It is not acceptable for you to tell me that MediaMonkey also needs to be run as Administrator. What you should be doing is making it possible to run MonkeyServer as non-Admin user.

Opening a server port without Admin privs is completely possible. I've had the MM "Web Interface Plugin" installed for a while and it has no problem opening a server port as part of the MM instance. I hope you bother to figure this out, because that plugin has its own set of problems which makes it essentially worthless.

As an aside: You don't even bother checking for Admin privs in the installer; you just ignore all the errors from trying to write to an inaccessible directory or an inaccessible registry key, and behave like everything succeeded. No error, no nothing.

Maybe you're doing all your development work on post-XP version of Windows, where the priv-elevation feature can bypass these issues. I'm unlikely to upgrade the OS here anytime soon. Or maybe you work under XP, but run as Admin all the time.


There is a second problem, which is that the handheld can't connect to the MS port. The local connection, http://127.0.0.1:2233, works fine, but http://192.168.0.112:2233 from a different computer on the LAN fails. (Yes, I've created the exception in Windows Firewall -- the same exception created for the Web Interface Plugin, which allows connections just fine.) When I examine the MonkeyServer process using Process Explorer, it shows the program listening on a different port than 2233, a port that changes with each invocation: 4423, 1632, no pattern that I can see. But the handheld can't connect through that port, either. I'm baffled by this problem. (Process Explorer shows the expected port open for MediaMonkey when that plugin is in use.)

[jednie]

Like several people posting in this topic, I want MonkeyServer for the remote interface to the running version of MediaMonkey, not to play files on the remote computer (which is a handheld). I'm pretty unhappy because you are requiring Admin privs to run your program.

I hoped to eliminate the admin requirement for this release but there are so many other changes that I put into this release that I decided to put that change on hold until the next release. I wasn't aware that this was causing people problems.

It is not acceptable for you to tell me that MediaMonkey also needs to be run as Administrator. What you should be doing is making it possible to run MonkeyServer as non-Admin user.

This what I plan on doing.

As an aside: You don't even bother checking for Admin privs in the installer; you just ignore all the errors from trying to write to an inaccessible directory or an inaccessible registry key, and behave like everything succeeded. No error, no nothing.

My understanding is that the Windows operating system recognizes when a setup program is being run and automatically gives it Administrator privileges. There is no code in the setup program that I know of that ignores installation errors.

There is a second problem, which is that the handheld can't connect to the MS port. The local connection, http://127.0.0.1:2233, works fine, but http://192.168.0.112:2233 from a different computer on the LAN fails. (Yes, I've created the exception in Windows Firewall -- the same exception created for the Web Interface Plugin, which allows connections just fine.) When I examine the MonkeyServer process using Process Explorer, it shows the program listening on a different port than 2233, a port that changes with each invocation: 4423, 1632, no pattern that I can see. But the handheld can't connect through that port, either. I'm baffled by this problem. (Process Explorer shows the expected port open for MediaMonkey when that plugin is in use.)

I am not having this problem when I connect from a different PC on my network. There isn't any code in the program that changes the port in manner that you mention. I don't know what is causing this problem. You could try using a completely different port and see if that works any better.

Jednie

[jonp]

Thanks for the update jednie.

Rather than complaining I think people could show some appreciation for the work jednie has put into this script. The script is not "pretty much useless" for me. If people cannot provide constructive feedback I suggest people do not leave feedback.

[jednie]

Thanks for the update jednie.

Rather than complaining I think people could show some appreciation for the work jednie has put into this script. The script is not "pretty much useless" for me. If people cannot provide constructive feedback I suggest people do not leave feedback.

Thanks jonp.

There is a huge list of changes that I want to make before I consider this a completed product and worthy of a 1.0 version release. I think most people see that the version number is less than 1.0 and understand that the program is probably incomplete and may be less than perfect. The feedback that I have received over the past year has been great and has really helped to keep me motivated to get up early every day and put in the hours of development before I head off to my "real" job. Thanks for understanding.

jednie

[Onweerwolf]

I've installed this app and it looks promising however when I try to play a song i'm getting this error:

An error has occurred.

System.Exception: SQL: update songs set playcounter=playcounter+1,lasttimeplayed=40417,0218309722 where id in (1372,11372,13720,13721,13722,13723,13724,13725,13726,13727,13728,13729,21372)
SQLite error
near "0218309722": syntax error
at MonkeyServer.DBBase.ExecuteSQLStatement(String strSQL, Int32 Timeout)
at MonkeyServer.MediaMonkeyLibrary.UpdateSongPlayCount(String[] arrSongIDs)
at MonkeyServer.Page.AaDgTymnneRT(iQueryResult )
at MonkeyServer.Page.ApeKYhfZf4JQ()
at MonkeyServer.Page.ProcessRequest(Request& theRequest, Response& theResponse)
at MonkeyServer.ServerConnection.HandleRequest()

Any idea?