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Acne Remedy : on 
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Alexa Stewart on Linkify Your Twitter Feed
In case you missed it, I wrote a guest blog article over at the david walsh blog on how to add html links to your Twitter status using some regular expressions in PHP. You should go check it out if you haven’t.
Force Safari to Open New Tabs Instead of New Windows
I have always been annoyed how Safari (by default) will open certain links (e.g. target=”_blank”) in a new browser window instead of a new tab. Fortunately, there is a hidden preference you can set to force Safari to behave. I came across a post that details how. In a nutshell, you do this:
defaults write com.apple.Safari TargetedClicksCreateTabs -bool true
Hopefully this helps someone else out, too. I know I will be referring back to this post every time I set up a new Mac.
Use php5 and php4 on Same Apache Server
A while back at work I needed to use php5 for a site that was hosted on a machine that uses Apache’s mod-php4. Since I needed to keep php4 for the rest of the sites hosted on this machine, I needed to find a way to enable php5 for just one virtual host. It turned out to be a relatively easy thing to do. I just needed to install the php5 CGI package and tell Apache to use CGI for php files on that particular virtual host. Here is how I accomplished this on our Debian server:
Mac OS X Leopard and Kerberos
I recently had to set up a new Mac Pro running OS X Leopard (10.5) to run on our network. All of our other Macs are currently running Tiger (10.4), but this new quad-core machine can not. Upon trying to get Kerberos authentication (GSSAPI), I ran into a little bit of a snag that took me a little while to figure out.
On Tiger, the minimal Kerberos configuration file (/Library/Preferences/edu.mit.Kerberos) needed to look like this:
[libdefaults]
default_realm = EXAMPLE.COM
This setup assumes that the Kerberos realm matches the DNS domain name of the machine, and also depends on the proper DNS SRV records being set up. However, when I copied this file to the Leopard machine, it didn’t seem to work properly. After a little troubleshooting, I found that I needed to add the following section the the configuration file:
[domain_realm]
.example.com = EXAMPLE.COM
example.com = EXAMPLE.COM
This section maps the DNS domain name to the Kerberos realm. For whatever reason, this used to happen automatically, but now it needs to be stated explicitly. Go figure…
Hopefully this saves someone else out there some time!
How to Disable Windows Startup Processes
So, you have a million little icons in your system tray, eh? Each one of them most likely represents a process that starts up when you log into Windows. They’re probably slowing you down quite a bit, and you might not even realize it because Windows hides the icons you don’t use by default. Disabling non-essential startup processes is an easy way to make your computer run faster.
“How do you disable them?” you ask? Most people probably know about the “Startup” folder in the Start Menu. However, the registry also has a couple places that can cause processes to start at login. There is a place for just your user login, and there is another place that affects all users. You need administrator privileges to disable things for all users.
Startup Folder
Open a Windows Exploer window and check out the following folders:
- C:\Documents and Settings\<your_user_name>\Start Menu\Startup
- C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Startup
The first folder contains shortcuts to programs that are started when you log in, and the second one contains programs that start when any user (including you) logs in. You should be able to safely delete just about anything in either of these folders. This is not usually the way essential processes are started.
Registry
Note: Editing the registry is recommended for advanced users only. If you’ve never edited the registry before, proceed with caution. You could seriously screw up your system if you’re not careful. You have been warned.
Fire up the Registry Editor (Start->Run, type “regedit”) and check out the following keys:
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Here you should find a bunch of programs that get started at startup. Many of the names will look like jibberish, so you might have to do some research to figure out which ones are safe to disable. I recommend searching at www.processlibrary.com for the .EXE name. They’ll you what is safe to disable and what is not.
After disabling all the non-essential processes, you should notice that your system is much snappier. “A nice improvement for the five minutes it takes to do,” I say.
Symfony 1.1 Released
The guys over at symfony have just released the much-anticipated version 1.1 of their popular PHP web framework. I have yet to try out the new version, but if it’s as good as it sounds, we’re in for a treat. I switched from Rails to symfony 1.0 relatively recently because of Ruby’s dog-slow performance on Dreamhost, and am loving it.
Version 1.1 is technically a “transition” release that will bridge the gap between 1.0 and 1.2, but there are still quite a few improvements. Some of the new features include:
- Increased support of better-performing ORMs (than Propel 1.2) like Propel 1.3 and Doctrine
- New object-oriented form framework
- New forms book to go along with said framework
- New task system for easy maintenance and batching
- Countless performance and usability improvements
Get it while it’s hot, folks!
How to Find a Wii Fit
Wii Fit with Balance Board seems to be in great demand since its release on May 21. It has become harder to find than the Wii itself. However, I have one, and it wasn’t as hard to get as you might think. No, I didn’t rush out on the release date and stand in line before the stores opened. No, I didn’t pre-order it online. No, I didn’t pay twice the price on Amazon or eBay… Here’s what I did:
I went to Walmart.com. It is “Out of Stock” online, but they have this handy little feature called “Find in Stores” where you enter your zip code and they show you the availability at stores near you. Nearly all the stores are sold out at any given time, but a few random stores get shipments in every day.
This handy list is updated in the wee (or is it Wii?) hours of every morning. So, all you have to do is wake up early every morning and check the list (link). If the item is listed as “In Stock” or “Limited Stock”, you’re in luck. I would suggest giving the store’s electronics department a call to make sure they actually still have it before you make the drive. They won’t hold it for you, but you might get lucky like I did… the store where I found mine was keeping them behind the counter, out of view. Otherwise I’m sure they would have sold before I got there (I got the last one!).
This isn’t limited to Wii Fit. You should be able to track down anything Wal-Mart carries. What a nice feature, eh?
Welcome!
Welcome, little ones. This is my first post on this blog. I plan to feed you random bits of information about anything “technical” that interests me. I imagine there will be quite a few “how to” posts for things that I would have liked to know without searching high and low for the answer.
Check back soon and often. I’ll try not to disappoint you.