Ben Edelman site down?
Feb 8, 2005, 10:47 am
#46
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: SJC
Programs: UA
Posts: 650
It looks like his DNS provider (dnsjunction.com) went under therefore his domain no longer resolves. I think Ben will move to a different provider in a few days. If not I will try to develop an alternative site based on Ben's concept.
Feb 8, 2005, 9:22 pm
#47
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: SJC
Programs: UA
Posts: 650
DL Seat Map functionality back (kind-of)
I have thrown together a couple of scripts loosely based on Ben Edelman's idea of displaying Delta Air Lines seat maps. Feel free to use - the interface is very basic, but should be useful as of this moment.
http://dlseats.statusrun.com/
http://dlseats.statusrun.com/
Feb 9, 2005, 6:28 am
#50
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: VPS
Programs: DL DM/2MM, Etihad Gold, HHonors Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 4,787
Originally Posted by miro
I have thrown together a couple of scripts loosely based on Ben Edelman's idea of displaying Delta Air Lines seat maps. Feel free to use - the interface is very basic, but should be useful as of this moment.
Feb 11, 2005, 10:12 am
#54
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Newport Beach, CA, USA
Programs: AA Gold, Husband AA EXP (yeah!!) Hya Dia, Marriott
Posts: 1,885
I keep getting 'An Error Occurred' on both Edelman's & Miro's links 
Trying to check F Cl availability for DL1866 17FEB SNA/SLC & return 22FEB DL875...
Trying to check F Cl availability for DL1866 17FEB SNA/SLC & return 22FEB DL875...
Feb 11, 2005, 10:18 am
#55
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: NYC
Programs: DL FO, UA Premier Silver, AA Gold, PC Gold, HH Silver, MR Silver
Posts: 357
Originally Posted by brendamc
I keep getting 'An Error Occurred' on both Edelman's & Miro's links
Trying to check F Cl availability for DL1866 17FEB SNA/SLC & return 22FEB DL875...
Trying to check F Cl availability for DL1866 17FEB SNA/SLC & return 22FEB DL875...
You might want to confirm the Flight #'s and then you should be in business.
The site is working properly as I checked one my flights in March and saw all the seats.
Feb 11, 2005, 11:48 am
#57
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Bellevue, WA - AA EXP 3MM
Posts: 2,756
Hi folks,
My entire web site was offline for about a day because I was the target of a (surprisingly large and intense) DDoS attack. Mostly my site posts my research about spyware, and some of the spyware providers apparently really want me to stop writing about them. Details.
I've now found a new web host, which should be more reliable. (They're uniquely able to withstand DDoS attacks.)
Meanwhile, I'll also be enhancing the site i nthe coming days. Particularly exciting: It will no longer be necessary to type in the origin and destination city pairs; just typing the flight number will be enough. Will post here with details when available.
Ben
My entire web site was offline for about a day because I was the target of a (surprisingly large and intense) DDoS attack. Mostly my site posts my research about spyware, and some of the spyware providers apparently really want me to stop writing about them. Details.
I've now found a new web host, which should be more reliable. (They're uniquely able to withstand DDoS attacks.)
Meanwhile, I'll also be enhancing the site i nthe coming days. Particularly exciting: It will no longer be necessary to type in the origin and destination city pairs; just typing the flight number will be enough. Will post here with details when available.
Ben
Feb 11, 2005, 11:57 am
#58
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Denver CO
Posts: 3,682
Originally Posted by bedelman
Hi folks,
My entire web site was offline for about a day because I was the target of a (surprisingly large and intense) DDoS attack. Mostly my site posts my research about spyware, and some of the spyware providers apparently really want me to stop writing about them. Details.
I've now found a new web host, which should be more reliable. (They're uniquely able to withstand DDoS attacks.)
Meanwhile, I'll also be enhancing the site i nthe coming days. Particularly exciting: It will no longer be necessary to type in the origin and destination city pairs; just typing the flight number will be enough. Will post here with details when available.
Ben
My entire web site was offline for about a day because I was the target of a (surprisingly large and intense) DDoS attack. Mostly my site posts my research about spyware, and some of the spyware providers apparently really want me to stop writing about them. Details.
I've now found a new web host, which should be more reliable. (They're uniquely able to withstand DDoS attacks.)
Meanwhile, I'll also be enhancing the site i nthe coming days. Particularly exciting: It will no longer be necessary to type in the origin and destination city pairs; just typing the flight number will be enough. Will post here with details when available.
Ben
Just a note from a fan who uses your site to great advantage and convenience.
Thanks very much, pal.
Feb 11, 2005, 8:23 pm
#59
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Bellevue, WA - AA EXP 3MM
Posts: 2,756
System now automatically fills in origin & destination given flight number
A long-anticipated improvement: My site now automatically fills in a flight's origin and destination cities when given the flight number. I extracted this data from a PDF on Delta's site -- not the easiest task in the world, required some scripting (as well as a nice PDF->text tool Miro pointed me to). But the net effect is pretty slick. Better than having to type in city codes!
For now I'll leave the city names in prominent boxes, letting users enter city codes manually if needed (if my system somehow doesn't know the codes or gets them wrong).
Note that I'll have to update the flight-city database from time to time, e.g. as Delta adds flight to the schedule. I'm hoping I'll only have to do this a few times per year, but maybe that's over-optimistic.
To recap the fastest use of the form, for savvy users in a hurry:
1) Type in http://delta.edelman.org . That's about the shortest URL I'm in a position to offer. (Note: This new shortcut domain is still propagating through the DNS, and may not work for some folks until tomorrow. http://travel.edelman.org/dlseats will work for sure [because I set up the travel alias some time ago]. And http://www.benedelman.org/travel/dlseats will of course work.)
2) Type the desired flight number. (Notice: The cursor focus will automatically be in the flight number box -- no need to use your mouse or click.)
3) Press tab. Notice that Origin and Destination cities fill in automatically.
4) Specify travel date: Tap the first letter of the month of travel. Repeat that letter until you reach the desired month. Press tab. Type day of month.
5) Press enter. (The View Seat Map button is the default, so it is automatically activated by pressing enter.)
Hope this is helpful to folks. Next up, perhaps: A similar tool for AA. The seat map access from AA.COM is so lame -- unbookmarkable, unnecessarilly requires retyping city pair data, etc.
For now I'll leave the city names in prominent boxes, letting users enter city codes manually if needed (if my system somehow doesn't know the codes or gets them wrong).
Note that I'll have to update the flight-city database from time to time, e.g. as Delta adds flight to the schedule. I'm hoping I'll only have to do this a few times per year, but maybe that's over-optimistic.
To recap the fastest use of the form, for savvy users in a hurry:
1) Type in http://delta.edelman.org . That's about the shortest URL I'm in a position to offer. (Note: This new shortcut domain is still propagating through the DNS, and may not work for some folks until tomorrow. http://travel.edelman.org/dlseats will work for sure [because I set up the travel alias some time ago]. And http://www.benedelman.org/travel/dlseats will of course work.)
2) Type the desired flight number. (Notice: The cursor focus will automatically be in the flight number box -- no need to use your mouse or click.)
3) Press tab. Notice that Origin and Destination cities fill in automatically.
4) Specify travel date: Tap the first letter of the month of travel. Repeat that letter until you reach the desired month. Press tab. Type day of month.
5) Press enter. (The View Seat Map button is the default, so it is automatically activated by pressing enter.)
Hope this is helpful to folks. Next up, perhaps: A similar tool for AA. The seat map access from AA.COM is so lame -- unbookmarkable, unnecessarilly requires retyping city pair data, etc.
Feb 11, 2005, 9:50 pm
#60
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Bellevue, WA - AA EXP 3MM
Posts: 2,756
Taking another look at my system to auto-complete-airport-codes (given flight number), I see that I spoke too soon in declaring the system operational. Given a flight number, my system always gave a city-pair served by that flight number.
But there are plenty of through flights such that a given flight number serves multiple city pairs. E.g. DL3789 flies SFO-SLC-DEN. So 3789 could identify a SFO-SLC segment or a SLC-DEN segment. My system can't readily figure out which of these is "right" -- which one a given user wants -- and I don't yet have a user interface for asking a user to confirm.
I've therefore disabled the auto-complete-city feature. Will work on this some more. Sorry...
But there are plenty of through flights such that a given flight number serves multiple city pairs. E.g. DL3789 flies SFO-SLC-DEN. So 3789 could identify a SFO-SLC segment or a SLC-DEN segment. My system can't readily figure out which of these is "right" -- which one a given user wants -- and I don't yet have a user interface for asking a user to confirm.
I've therefore disabled the auto-complete-city feature. Will work on this some more. Sorry...