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Matching entries from Ye Olde Rad Blog II
Six Apart Releases Movable Type Open Source! (v4.1) Woohoo!
Now that the forum-update (to YaBB 2.2) is complete (first things first), my attention turns to Ye Olde Rad Blog .. for which I've used Movable Type (since 2003), and been waiting patiently for the release of v4.1. (Cuz it...
Upgraded Rad Community Forums to YaBB v2.2 (Sorta)
Finished upgrading the forums last night. Did not go as smoothly as I'd hoped. Seems we lost about half our members (1100 to start) and ~25K posts (33K to start).This sux. Now you know why I dread upgrades. Yeah, I...
Preparing to Upgrade the Rad Community Forums to YaBB v2.2
I'm preparing to upgrade the Rad Community Forums to YaBB 2.2, which was released November 8th (allowing time for them to correct any glitches discovered since the new release).We currently use YaBB 2.1, which was released more than 2 years...
Movable Type v4.1 vs Expression Engine v1.6
I've been looking into installing the latest version of MovableType (blogging software) .. which happens to be v4.1 .. which is currently in beta3, which was released 2 days ago.The main reason I'm waiting for v4.1 is cuz (copy-n-paste from...
Text-to-Speech Programs Software + AT&T Natural Voices
Quiet Christmas here in Radland .. with the Bug gone for the holidays. I miss the little guy. Come to think of it, I've never yet seen him on Christmas. There's something I can look forward to. Maybe next...
Restored First Norton Ghost 12 Hard Drive Back-up Image (Recovery Point)
16.December.2007 » Restored my first Ghost 12 image today. (It worked!) You might recall the problems I've been having with the DC input jack on my laptop.Went to dinner last night and caught a movie. When I returned, the...
EAOS anniversary, First Photoshop Layer & The Bug's First Root Beer Float
I created my first image using layers (in Photoshop) today. If you scroll down to the previous entry, you'll see I put some radEyes in the skull pictured on the pirate flag there. Simple, but the technique is the same, no matter how sophisticated you wanna get. Anyway, the Bug (who has always enjoyed that part of the story) turned and asked, "What's a root beer float, dada?" "A root beer float?!" I says. "You mean to tell me you've never had a root beer float? My son! We must correct this discrepancy immediately!"
Started Reading New Book » Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual
Started reading a new book .. on Dreamweaver (compliments of Poncho) titled » Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual (released June, 2007). Weighing in at 1,000 pages, this is the fattest book I've ever sat down with. So far, I'm very impressed. Even the first (introductory) chapters contain many insightful tips about real world usage (my favorite kind).
5 Reasons Why You Should Back-up Your Hard Drive with a Cloning Program such as Norton Ghost
So how do you protect yourself against hard drive failure? There are various ways, with each method offering a degree of protection. But the *best* way to protect your data and your operating system is with an imaging/cloning program .. such as Norton Ghost (distributed by Symantec). An imaging/cloning program is like an insurance policy » hopefully you never have to use it. But if you do, you're glad you have it. One dead drive is all it takes to make a believer out of most people. Smart people learn from the mistakes of others.
First-ever Mountain Bike Ride during Heat Wave Impairs Cognitive Function
At the coffee shop yesterday, I let my rock-climbing buddy (Tom) talk me into a mountain bike ride (my first ever). Unfortunately, yesterday brought a record-breaking heat wave. It was sooo freakin' hot. Tom estimated 105 degrees on the trails where no breeze blew. We didn't get started until after noon, finishing 3 hours later » smack dab in the heat of the day. (We stopped to fix his broken chain, then later, my flat tire.) This was the most physically stressed I've ever been. I actually noticed myself suffering impaired cognitive functions. For example, while Tom was fixing my flat, he told me to drink more water. So I walked over to *his* bike and picked it up, thinking it was my own.
Mid-way Review of Head First XHTML/CSS Book
Half-way thru new (650-page) Head First XHTML/CSS book. Completed first 7 chapters, which cover all things pertaining to HTML/XHTML (the *structure* of a web page, such as setting up » headings, paragraphs, images, links). Chapter 8 (« 3-MB PDF), which I'm starting now, begins discussion of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), which is cooler than (X)HTML, cuz it deals with *presentation* (as separated from structure).
YaBB Forum Security Vulnerability Patched
A security vulnerability was reported for the forum software (YaBB v2.1), as posted at iDefense Labs... ... which allows attackers to register with Administrator privileges by "setting the values of certain variables to contain certain characters." (Nice of them not to spell-out how to implement the hack.)
Six Apart Releases Version 4.0 (beta) of its Movable Type Blogging Software
Six Apart (6A) has released version 4.0 (beta) of its Movable Type blogging software, with a final Open Source version scheduled for release this summer. Sweet! There will also be a separate commercial version (with tech support) released along with the eagerly-awaited open source version. The big question on everyone's mind seems to be > "Will an open source version allow Movable Type to make up ground it lost to WordPress (very popular open source blogging software) following 6A's decision to license v3.x?"
Learning Dad Tricks & all about Virtual Private Servers (VPS)
Been playing Rad dad last few days. The bug is getting to that age where he knows what he wants (and what he doesn't want). No longer can I just grab him and do what I want. Now he must be dealt with. Been looking into Virtual Private Servers (VPS) .. by trading emails with Lunarpages support to learn how that deal that works. Odd how Basic Hosting (which I have now) comes with 350 gigs of storage (which few will ever use) & costs less than 10 bucks a month. Yet a VPS account only comes with 20 gigs storage (still way more than the 2 or 3 I need) .. tho costs $40/month. Seems like the numbers are backwards (you pay more, but get less). So I asked why. Their response:
Proficiency with Software & Setting Root Password for MySQL Database in phpMyAdmin under WAMP5
A big part of Indulging Your Technolust involves learning how to use cool software. Once you have your hardware dialed in, and your system backed up (crucial step), it's time to become proficient with your favorite programs. After you install WAMP (running as localhost) you'll notice in phpMyAdmin (where you set up your MySQL databases) a warning that says you have no root password, saying this is not secure and should be corrected soon as possible.
Comparing Drupal vs Joomla Content Management Systems - Part II
This entry is continued from Part I > Comparing Joomla vs Drupal Content Management Systems - Part I You can actually TEST various CMS'es at > OpenSourceCMS, log in (as administrator) and take them for a test drive. Every two hours, the site wipes your changes and starts everything over from scratch. Pretty cool. You can also demo Joomla! here.
Dell Computer Selects Ubuntu for its PCs Pre-installed with Linux
World's 2nd largest PC manufacturer, Dell computer, will be offering its PCs (both desktops & laptops) with the Linux operating system. They've partnered with (London-based) Canonical (founded by South African Mark Shuttleworth) to offer the Ubuntu distro.
Comparing Joomla vs Drupal Content Management Systems - Part I/II
Thinking of splitting-out site content pertaining to my experiences as a dad .. to a NEW site, such as raddad.com (oops, that domain name already taken) .. or rad-dad.com (uh, that one is also taken). Anyway, I'll find some new domain that will work. (Cost ~$10/yr, and I already have tons of content I could transfer.)
Using Google's AJAX Search API
Test of Google's AJAX Search API, which lets you insert Google elements into your web pages (using JavaScript code). Pretty cool. You first have to sign up for a license key. (Google gives you a big, long key, ~100 characters.)
Dialing In Movable Type blogging software
Been dinking around with my new installation of Movable Type (v3.35), configuring both the display page (the part you see) and the admin interface (where I compose entries).
First Post with Movable Type v3.35
First post with v3.35 of Movable Type blogging software (uh, I mean, publishing platform) .. which represents the latest release from Six Apart (on 12.april, see here). My old blog (v2.63) is still > HERE (same place it's been last 4 years). I installed that version in May 2003, and never upgraded (didn't wanna do anything that might risk losing hundreds of posts) .. until now.
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