Posted on: 28/01/2004 23:31:30 - 7 comments
Tagged in: blog.
This weekend, more than likely Sunday I will be releasing the system that runs this site. I'm working on an installer for it now. This should hopefully make the task of installing it a rather simple matter. This will be a beta release meaning for the most part you'll have to muddle through on your own. I won't be offering huge support for it so please don't get mad should I not respond to your E-Mail as quick as you might like. I run my own business as well as a full time job elsewhere and that generates more than enough E-Mail for me as is without the release of this adding to that. However I will try my best to answer all your E-Mails if you get stuck.
I had planned to create a developers area by the time it was released. This has not come to pass because other work has gotten in the way and so the method of which I going to release it is by E-Mail and a sign up form. In other words if you want it you'll have to submit a valid E-Mail address to me and I'll send it'll be sent to your E-Mail. The download is small so you'll not be getting a massive attachment. It will be in a zipped format and will unzip into the exact structure it should for you to upload it (the installer must have write privileges). From there you'll need to set up the installer by answering a few questions and then it will be ready to rock.
You'll need the following to run it:
Server (built/tested with Apache)
PHP (built/tested with 4.2.1)
MySqL (built/tested with 3.23)
For the geeks amongst you here is the prefered PHP config changes that I used rather the default that comes with the install of PHP.
register_globals = Off (Security, Performance)
display_errors = Off (Security)
log_errors = On (Security)
output_buffering = 4096 (Performance)
register_argc_argv = Off (Performance)
magic_quotes_gpc = Off (Performance)
variables_order = "GPCS" (Performance)
error_reporting = E_ALL (Code Cleanliness, Security(?))
allow_call_time_pass_reference = Off (Code cleanliness)
Part of the reason for me changing these are in the brackets but also it forced me to write decent code, code that should work with earlier versions of php and mysql. Also because of that should be future proof too. I've not made use huge use of the more fancy functions offered in PHP and I've used as few as possible global variables (three I think). None of this should matter to people who don't own servers but hey thought I'd let you know anyways.
I've been asked if I can make a tool to convert already existing databases (MT, Nuke and so on) to the format used by this system. My answer to that is pretty simple...
...We'll see. For now I just want to release it and since it's a beta... Well we'll just see, no promises.
Posted on: 27/01/2004 22:06:51 - No comments
Tagged in: blog.
Tony Blair has scraped home by just five votes in a crunch House of Commons test of his controversial plans to introduce university top-up fees. The Higher Education Bill was backed by 316 votes to 311 after days of intense campaigning by ministers and rebels. Mr Blair had staked his authority on winning the vote, which was widely seen as his biggest test as prime minister. It provides a boost hours before Lord Hutton's verdict on the death of Iraq weapons expert Dr David Kelly.
Read The Article
Posted on: 25/01/2004 20:27:08 - No comments
Tagged in: blog.
Bumble is finally back with a new site called walktheplank.org.uk w00t!
It's been on hold because I've been a lazy bastard, well not quite true but I have been that busy I have not had time to get it sorted. However Bumble's designed the site and we have spent this afternoon sorting bits of the content and so on out. It's not fully finished but it's up none the less. Bumble still has lots of content to upload and add so give her time and she'll soon be making you walk the plank in style. This time she's going dark side (the real her) no more fluffy bumblesting, just plain in-yer-face topics! Covering fetish to f**king the dead (I'm serious). Some of the sites content and the sites linked on there are not safe for work! Don't complain should it get you in the shit at work. You were warned!
visit: walktheplank.org.uk
Posted on: 18/01/2004 19:40:47 - 3 comments
Tagged in: blog.
I was sat here trying to think of something to post, the world around me isn't the most inspirational at the moment. I'm sick of whining about my job (and most of you are probably sick of reading it heh) and so I was looking around for something to write about. I scanned the news headlines and the most interesting thing was, well... Nothing to be honest. I got to thinking about music and so on and I need a new stereo in my front room and for a while I've considered getting some cheap ass thing, you know, the ones that are about £200, the size of two bags of sugar and have as much range as tone deaf old woman. See I like my bass, love my mid-range and live for top-end so I can't see me shelling out for something that I can re-create in an old baked bean can.
It got me thinking and as per usual when I think it usually end up in me starting some project. See the problem with my old stereo is that it's had a real battering, it's just f**ked, the speakers are top-notch so it seems a real waste to buy an all-in-one thing as I'd have a decent pair of speakers and nothing to drive em'. As it happens I have an old pc knocking around which I rarely use and I thought of converting it to a music station. Of course I'd have to network it so I can access the rather large volume (7gig's) of MP3's that I have. Of course that's cool, not a problem for me. It also got me thinking that I do not want windows on the thing. In reality I don't even need a full on operating system at all. Just network capability and an MP3 player basically! So once I have the dsbs released my next project will be to build a stripped down *nix based OS with the latest Kernel. Why not? I mean it makes sense, spend what I would spend on a new stereo on a cheap assed flat screen monitor, hook it up to the music based OS (which believe me is more simple to make than you realise) and hide the box so all I have is a mouse and a nice flat screen monitor instead of a stereo. I can control everything from volume to EQ using the screen.
Perfect.
Even better would be a really nice front-end to it all that was nothing remotely like what you'd expect and boom I have a one off, kick ass music centre.
Reckon it's a good idea?
Posted on: 13/01/2004 20:00:27 - 10 comments
Tagged in: blog.
The site is now in the final complete Beta testing phase so if you get errors please don't bother to E-Mail me. I'm aware they're happening. I've been tweaking the code and what you see before you is exactly what you'll get when it's available for download. You will not however get this colour scheme (as it is mine and I have no intention of changing it in the near future) you will however get this layout. The colours will be changed and you will not get any images with the system. You can always design your own ;)
I've now padded out the functions as no doubt you'll see with the change in the url's of the site. The reason for this is two fold. Firstly I wanted to shed the people that have hot linked directly to articles on this site. If you want to link to them that's fine but you'll need to use the correct url to do so from now on. Also new features and the way in which they work meant that I had to make these changes. So far the database is backward compatible with the present one with the exception of the comments system now having the ability to track, add personal items to comments in the form of E-Mail and or a web link. People have always seemed to have trouble with the link BBCode so I have added a "quick link" feature underneath the main comment box. If you want to add a url link then just give it a name and put the link (inc http://) into the link part and click add and it will be added to the comment box without you needing to type the BBCode out. Hopefully this will help. patten found a bug with the "remember me" function if you're on XP with IE6, SP1. The radio selectors seem to get confused if you click one it selects it, click the other and it selects that too! Pain the ass! I'll get that fixed as soon as I can work out what the problem is. skeddy put forward an idea that I already had in the making regarding comments and the ability to see the "last 10" somewhere on the main page. I am in the process of designing a ticker that will do just that so bare with me if you see javascript errors all over the place and so on. So far I have had it working in all the browsers I have tested the site. Speaking of which...
The site (as is) is now 100% compatible with the following browsers:
Internet Explorer 5.5+
Mozilla 1.4a
Mozilla Firebird 0.7
Opera 7.11
SlimBrowser 3.8
The above have all been tested now and what was really strange is that one day I tested Firebird after Gurion had pointed the problem out in the comments section and it seemed fine. When I last checked it wasn't fine, the weird bit was I hadn't changed the code at all, neither had I changed versions of Firebird. twas' puzzling but none the less it's fixed and I have, in the process, learned that between them all they can all be 10 pixels out when rendering the CSS. I find this a poor do, how hard can it be to count pixels? They all differ in how they render but yet the site is XHTML and CSS2 compliant and validates at the W3C. *shrugs*.
A few more things need to be done to the front-end and I'll consider it done. After that it is the admin area that needs to be polished and I'm done.
Soon...
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