Blackbeagle

Apache mod_rewrite and AllowOverride

jeremy — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:06:09 +0000

There are several solutions that require the Apache module mod_rewrite to provide clean urls for better search engine optimization. One common problem if you are seeing 404 errors is the default settings in Apache does not allow you to use mod_rewrite.

By default the settings for AllowOverride is set to None. For mod_rewrite to work AllowOverride at a minimum needs to be set to FileInfo Options. Options isn’t required for mod_rewrite but is commonly required if you are using .htaccess.

Apache Docs for mod_rewrite

CrashPlan Review - A flexible multi-platform backup solution

jeremy — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 01:26:07 +0000

CrashPlan is a multi-platform backup solution written by Code 42 software. The software has been available for approximately a year but I just discovered it recently.It seems like I’m always searching for a backup solution that will meet my requirements. In the past I’ve always had to compromise or use multiple different solutions. My basic requirements are:

Software that is easy to use and reliable
Software that is compatible with Windows and Macintosh computers
Offsite backups are preferred, however local backups to a central server is acceptable. Since I have multiple home computers, including laptops, I’d prefer not to rely on external hard drives.

As a home user I have two different types of files I’d like to backup. Smaller text based documents and much larger multimedia files. In the past I’ve used several remote backup solutions, for example Mozy, to backup the smaller files. I used a synchronization product, foldershare, to automatically create multiple copies of the larger multimedia files to other computers I owned.

CrashPlan offers several unique features that allow it to meet all my requirements. It’s one of the few backup solutions that support Windows, Mac, and Linux. It also supports backing up to other computers you own, your friends computers, or to CrashPlan’s servers.

Off-site backups help protect from local disasters. Some examples of local disasters would be flooding, fire, a power surge, or more severe like an earth quake. For home users off-site backups can be expensive and are very slow.

Remote backup services are becoming more inexpensive and are now available for under $10 a month. However even with broadband the time it takes to backup, and perform restores, is still a major issue. Backing up 20 gigs of data to a remote backup solution could take weeks and restoring this data could take several days.

CrashPlan has a solution to both of these issues by allowing you to backup to other computers you own or friends computers. It allows you to perform the initial backup locally to another computer in hours instead of weeks. Then you can create another copy of your data to a second remote location. You could also take your computer to the remote location for the initial backup or to do a large restore if necessary. Since you are backing up to another computer you own or a friends computer the most likely it there will be no additional cost for storage.

Backups are compressed and encrypted before they are sent to the remote computer and are stored in an encrypted format. So if you are backing up to a friends computer or CrashPlans servers they won’t be able to read your data. Previously when I was using a synchronization program for large files I could only use computers I owned. This is because the data was readable on the remote computer.

CrashPlan offers two versions of their software. A basic and a pro version. The major difference is the basic version only performs daily backups and saves the most recent copy. The pro version performs backups every 15 minutes by default but can be configured by the end user. The basic version is $20 and the pro version is $60. You only have to license the computers you are backing up. It’s free to run the client that is only used as a backup destination. You can also backup to CrashPlan’s servers for $5 per month
for 50 gigs of data and $.10 for each additional gig of data.

My new backup solution is to backup my home machines to a local file server. I have access to remote Linux server which holds a second copy of the data. This ensures I have a local source to perform quick backups and restores. Plus just in case I have a second remote off-site backup.

I’ve been using CrashPlan on windows, mac, and linux computers. The
program has been easy to use and has worked with no problems. If you need a backup solution I’d recommend testing CrashPlan, they have a 30 day trial available. It’s easy to use, reliable, and flexible enough to meet most users, and their friends, needs. They also have a similar solution available for business users.

VMware Infrastructure 3.5 released

jeremy — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:01:00 +0000

Under the name of VMware Infrastructure 3.5 (formerly 3.1), ESX Server 3.5 (build 64607), VirtualCenter 2.5 (build 64201), Converter 4.0 (build 62386) and Consolidated Backup 1.1 (build 64559) appear finally available.

read more | digg story

Scalable Media Hosting with Amazon S3

jeremy — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 16:42:07 +0000

Amazon’s developer connection has a great tutorial on using Amazon S3 for hosting your sites media files.

read more | digg story

Movable Type 4 - CAPTCHA Provider

jeremy — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:13:12 +0000

After installing Movable Type on the comment settings page I get the error:

No CAPTCHA provider available No CAPTCHA provider is available in this system. Please check to see if Image::Magick is installed, and CaptchaSourceImageBase directive points to captcha-source directory under mt-static/images.

On the system information page verify it shows your server has Image::Magick installed. If it is installed then you need to modify your mt-config.cgi file. The value of this configuration directive should be set to the absolute path on the filesystem to the images/catcha-source directory in mt-static.

Example

CaptchaSourceImageBase /path/to/mt/mt-static/images/captcha-source

Movable Type Docs

AppleInsider’s Road to Mac OS X Leopard Series

jeremy — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:26:54 +0000

AppleInsider has a series of articles in depth articles about OS X Leopard shipping on October 26th.

Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Finder 10.5

Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Time Machine

Road to Mac OS X Leopard: an extensive look at Preview 4.0

Road to Mac OS X Leopard: iChat 4.0

Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Spaces

Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Dock 1.6

Road Mac OS X Leopard: Mail 3.0

Road to Mac OS X Leopard: iCal 3.0

Road to Mac OS X Leopard: Dictionary 2.0

CSS Frameworks + CSS Reset: Design From Scratch

jeremy — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 08:14:00 +0000

“Let’s take a look at the idea behind CSS Frameworks, their advantages and disadvantages, most popular CSS frameworks and dozens of default-stylesheets you can use designing a new web-site from scratch.”

read more | digg story

Yahoo! Acquires Zimbra

jeremy — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 00:37:49 +0000

Zimbra announced today that Yahoo! is acquiring it to extend its email leadership to the University, Business and ISP markets. In order to focus on this effort, the Zimbra team will report to the communications group where we will remain fully committed to the community and to our customers and partners while leveraging opportunities.

read more | digg story

Recommended Hosts

jeremy — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 21:37:30 +0000

List of hosts I have experience with and would recommend.

Steadfast Networks - I currently have a clustered pair of dedicated servers and a reseller account. Personally I prefer H-Sphere, which they use in their reseller accounts, over Cpanel based shared accounts.
Server Axis - I used this host for approximately a year with good results.
Liquid Web - My Liquid Web Review, Aug 06
Planet Argon - Planet Argon Review, Oct 06

Faster, safer Internet with OpenDNS

jeremy — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 17:19:45 +0000

Launched in July 2006, OpenDNS adds a few free services on top of the traditional DNS to block phishing Web sites and auto-correct common misspelled URLs. And thanks to some clever traffic routing and load-balancing technology, OpenDNS can also deliver Web pages faster.