Nov/092
How to upgrade PHP in Ubuntu
I decided to upgrade my PHP version as part of my Moodle 2.0 install. It wasn’t easy. Here’s the answer:
Step 1 – Update and Upgrade your existing software repositories
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
Step 2 – Add some extra repositories so you can get the latest version
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
Then add the following to that file, and save it:
deb http://http.us.debian.org/debian stable all
deb http://security.debian.org/ stable/updates main contrib
deb http://packages.dotdeb.org/ stable all
Step 3: Update your new repositories
sudo apt-get update
(I got some 404 errors with this step, but you can ignore them)
Step 4: Install the latest version of php
sudo apt-get install php5-cli
Step 5: Restart Apache
sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
Nov/090
Install Moodle 2.0 on PHP 5.2.0 or higher
While installing Moodle 2.0, I ran into a little problem. It says that it requires a minimum PHP version of 5.2.8 – but I was running 5.2.6. Updating PHP in Ubuntu is a pain in the bum, so instead, I used this little hack.
A quick look at the source for install.php reveals this on line 489:
$version_fail = (version_compare(phpversion(), “5.2.8″) < 0);
If you just change 5.2.8 to your version (in my case, 5.2.6), it will install. There aren’t heaps of changes between these two versions, so I’m hoping there won’t be any major side effects!
Sep/091
Dear Talia…
Dear Talia…
Please buy this for me. You don’t need an excuse, it’s just because you love me. Or Christmas. Whichever makes me get it faster.
Logitech® Performance Mouse MX™
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/mice_pointers/mice/devices/5845&cl=us,en
And as much as I love my Microsoft Ergonomic 4000 keyboard, the wireless USB dongle which comes with the mouse supports a wireless logitech keyboard too, so I might have to borrow your keyboard to test it out (http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/6040&cl=us,en).
Sep/090
10 Places I Would Live
Lately, Talia and I have been having small disagreements about where we are going to spend the rest of our lives. Talia wants to settle down where we are. I would be happy anywhere else.
Don’t get me wrong, I love our house, but I love travelling and change and culture more.
So, here’s a short Google Earth placemark movie of 10 places I would live. Google Earth required. See if you can spot some recurring themes.
Aug/090
I’m working on an iPhone app
It’s going to be a take on something familiar – I think you’ll like it.
So far I’ve been having fun with:
- Pulling a cross domain JSON file (can’t do it with XML I discovered) into my app
- Experimenting with jQuery and $.ajax
- Using some of HTML 5’s cool new features like LOCAL SQL STORAGE! (Can you believe it???!! Very handy)
I’m hoping to use Phone Gap to compile all my hardwork into a native app, so hopefully Apple doesn’t mind. I’m going to probably submit it by this time next week.
Stay tuned for more updates! Maybe even a sneak preview – email me if you want one.
Jul/090
Alarm now in beta!
I’ve finally released a beta of the Alarm program I’ve been writing.
Download it and take a look. It’s only been tested on Mac OS X 10.5, but there’s no reason it shouldn’t work in 10.4. There’s not, nor will there ever be, a windows version.
If you like it, please let me know. It’s free, not even donationware, all I ask is that you tell me that you like it. You can comment on this post if you like.
Please, also remember that it’s beta software, so if you find bugs (and you probably will), make sure you let me know what they are, as well.
So here it is, the DOWNLOAD LINK. Like I used to say to all of my customers when I worked for Uncle Tony’s Kebabs, ‘Enjoy’.
Jul/091
New Blog Theme
Occasionally I change my theme, and, while I know that you can see perfectly well what it looks like now, I like to include a blog post and a picture, for posterity. So here it is.
So what do you think? Do you like it? Better or worse than my last theme?
Jul/090
No Address Bar Chrome on Google Latitude for iPhone
Before you ask…
Here’s how to add Google Latitude to your iPhone as a web clip without Mobile Safari’s top and bottom navigation bars.
- On your iPhone, go to http://carbis.fu8.com/iPhone/latitude (the capital ‘P’ matters)
- Before you are redirected to the latitude page, quickly press the + button, and press Add to Home Screen
- If the icon loads with a black background, you didn’t quite get it before it redirected – try again
- Press Add in the top right hand corner
And that’s that. You’ll notice I also edited the ugly Latitude home screen icon so that it matches all of Google’s other web apps.
Hope you like. 
Jul/092
Latest Project – Top Secret (Door)
So here’s the idea for my latest project. It’s top secret. Don’t tell anyone, okay?
I know this doesn’t make a terrible lot of sense, but that’s all part of the mystery.
(click for a bigger picture)
What do you think?
Jun/091
How to use Google Apps Chat in Beejive / Adium / Pidgin
… or any third party instant messaging client for that matter. So that you can use Google Talk on your Google Apps domain on your iPhone (through Beejive or IM+), or through your instant messaging client of choice. Even iChat!
First of all, you’ll need to update your SRV records. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of them before, it’s really easy. Log into your domain control, and, in the same way you would add DNS records, add the following SRV records (replacing domain.com with your domain):
_xmpp-server._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 5 0 5269 xmpp-server.l.google.com.
_xmpp-server._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 20 0 5269 xmpp-server1.l.google.com.
_xmpp-server._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 20 0 5269 xmpp-server2.l.google.com.
_xmpp-server._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 20 0 5269 xmpp-server3.l.google.com.
_xmpp-server._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 20 0 5269 xmpp-server4.l.google.com.
_jabber._tcp.gmail.domain. IN SRV 5 0 5269 xmpp-server.l.google.com.
_jabber._tcp.gmail.domain. IN SRV 20 0 5269 xmpp-server1.l.google.com.
_jabber._tcp.gmail.domain. IN SRV 20 0 5269 xmpp-server2.l.google.com.
_jabber._tcp.gmail.domain. IN SRV 20 0 5269 xmpp-server3.l.google.com.
_jabber._tcp.gmail.domain. IN SRV 20 0 5269 xmpp-server4.l.google.com.
_xmpp-client._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 5 0 5222 xmpp-server.l.google.com.
_xmpp-client._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 20 0 5222 xmpp-server1.l.google.com.
_xmpp-client._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 20 0 5222 xmpp-server2.l.google.com.
_xmpp-client._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 20 0 5222 xmpp-server3.l.google.com.
_xmpp-client._tcp.domain.com. IN SRV 20 0 5222 xmpp-server4.l.google.com.
The last five are the most important, and they’re not included in Google’s article on the topic. They are the part that lets you log in from a different instant messaging client.
Next, just add a Google Talk account, with the username being ‘username@yourdomain.com’ . It should all be good from there.
Let me know how you go, if this works for you (or if it doesn’t).