The best podcast app for Android: AntennaPod

It's about time! I've been looking for a decent Android podcast app for a while. The only ones I've seen up to this point are either:

• Free but really lousy
• Decent but cost $7

But my search is finally over.

Say hello to AntennaPod. It has all you'd need and want in a podcast app, plus it has a nice, clean interface, no ads, and it's free. There really isn't much more to say. Check it out, and if you like it, send the developer a buck or two.

Here's what the interface looks like so you can see for yourself:

Enjoy!

coming soon: memory-mapped db for OpenLDAP

short version:

I just ran across a site with news of a new database backend for OpenLDAP that's designed to be completely mapped to memory and is supposed to be faster, more memory efficient, and much easier to configure:

Memory-mapped Database for OpenLDAP

long version:

I'm a huge fan of OpenLDAP. not only is it the fastest and most scalable implementation of LDAP (see at the bottom for sources), best of all it's open-source. configuring it for optimal performance, however, is easier said than done. you have to configure indexes, the database cache size, the IDL cache size and of course the good ole entry cache size. Howard Chu, the current chief architect of OpenLDAP, describes the process pretty well:

"...it requires careful tuning to get good results and the tuning aspects can be quite complex. Data comes through three separate layers of caches before it may be used, and each cache layer has a significant footprint. Balancing the three layers against each other can be a difficult juggling act."

the good news: that quote comes from a site I just ran across where Chu announces a new database backend that's designed to be completely mapped to memory, known as "back-mdb". in Chu's description of back-mdb, he uses words like "extremely fast," "memory efficiency," and my favorite, "trivial configuration." I can't wait! (yes, I'm a giant nerd)

Chu said back-mdb will be ready sometime this month at the earliest, but whenever it comes, it will be worth waiting for. here's the link if you want to check out the details:

Memory-mapped Database for OpenLDAP

and here are those sources I promised you, ripped entirely from my wiki:

• fastest implementation of LDAP:
  
  
  
  • compared to 389/Fedora DS
  
  
  • compared to OpenDS and ApacheDS
  
  
  • compared to Oracle Internet Directory and OpenDS
  
  
  • compared to AD
  
  
  
  


• most scalable implementation of LDAP

A few good open-license Arabic fonts

Edit: I went ahead and put these here so I can maintain them more easily: Open-license Arabic fonts

Did you know the Arabic script is the second most-used writing system in the world? (source)

In case you happen to be looking for a decent Arabic font for your website, software, or publication, I've run across a few good ones that have an open license:

• DejaVu Sans and DejaVu Sans Mono
  These fonts support a lot more than just Arabic, but they do Arabic quite well. They come bundled with most GNU/Linux distributions. There are other DejaVu fonts, but as far as I can tell they don't support Arabic.


• Droid Naskh
  This font was created by the Arabic typographer Pascal Zoghbi for Google. You can read more about it here: http://www.29arabicletters.com/foundry/?m=1-1-1&fid=26


• DroidSansArabic
  This is the Arabic font for the Android OS. it was commissioned by Google and created by Ascender Corporation.


• Kacst
  A font from the folks behind the Arabeyes project supporting Arabic on *nix. More about this font and other fonts by Arabeyes here: http://projects.arabeyes.org/project.php?proj=Khotot


• SIL Arabic fonts
  SIL has released two fonts under an open license: Scheherazade and Lateef. Note that these fonts don't contain individual glyphs for all of the forms (initial, medial, final), and so if you use them in an environment that doesn't support the advanced shaping features of OpenType or AAT (such as Android), the letters won't be properly connected.

Currently unreleased fonts:

• Shasha
  Yet another Google commissioned font, this one appears to still be in progress. Interestingly, it bears a strong resemblance to DroidSansArabic. You can read more about its development here: http://shashafont.com/


• Ubuntu Arabic font
  (Thanks to Phil R for pointing out this one)
  It looks like Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) has commissioned Dalton Maag to create an Arabic font for Ubuntu. Nothing released yet, but here are some previews:
  Ubuntu Arabic, in print!
  Hebrew and Arabic on track

Pretty cool to note that Google commissioned 3 of the font families mentioned. Certainly Google isn't perfect, but they do contribute quite a bit back to the community.