AnaDress for Anastasia
A beautiful dress for Poser 9/Poser Pro 2012 and Anastasia at RDNA:
Get it while it is still for sale at $2.50!
http://www.runtimedna.com/AnaDress-for-Anastasia.html
Antonia MultiDress
A dynamic dress for Antonia Polygon available for free at RDNA. Four dress lengths: long, midi, short and mini. Only suitable for Poser 6+.
How to Set Up Virtual Hosts in Xampp on Ubuntu
Over a year ago I discovered how to set up virtual hosts in Xampp and posted my method in the Ubuntu forum. Today I had to do it again. My memory is not very good and as it is not something I do every day I could not remember the precise details. I had to go searching in the Ubuntu forums to find my instructions again and of course, this took quite a while to find as there is a mass of excellent hints and tips over there and it is very easy to become distracted. Therefore, I have decided to post my method here hoping that the next time I need to install virtual hosts I will be able to find the instructions straight away!
At the moment I am using Ubuntu 10.10 and XAMPP Linux 1.7.3a
1. First of all enable virtual hosts by editing httpd.conf:
sudo gedit /opt/lampp/etc/httpd.conf
Find #Include etc/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf and remove the # so it looks like:
Include etc/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf
Save and close.
2. Now add the virtual host:
sudo gedit /opt/lampp/etc/extra/httpd-vhosts.conf
You will find two virtual hosts set up as examples. Remove or edit these with your own details.
ServerAdmin webmaster@mysite.com
DocumentRoot /opt/lampp/htdocs/myname/mysite
ServerName mysite.com
ErrorLog logs/mysite.com-error_log
CustomLog logs/mysite.com-access_log common
Save and close the file.
3. Now tell Xampp where to find this site:
sudo gedit /etc/hosts
Add this:
127.0.0.1 mysite.com
Save and close the file.
4. Restart xampp server
sudo /opt/lampp/lampp restart
5. Now you can point your browser to http://mysite.com and it should fetch your site.
I hope this method helps you too.
First impressions of CodeIgniter
These last few weeks I have been trying out CodeIgniter and so far I have been very impressed. For those who do not know, CodeIgniter is an open source PHP framework. It is very easy to set up, works with version 4 and 5 of PHP, uses the MVC approach which separates logic from presentation and has a very good user guide and tutorials. I have built several applications while learning CodeIgniter and it does seem to make coding web projects quicker, easier and fun! If you have not used a framework before but are interested in learning how one works, I think CodeIgniter is an ideal first step. I will keep you updated as to how I progress with it.
New High
I was delighted to discover that my Snowglobe filter for Filter Forge earned a High Usage Rank today. It is good to know people are finding my filters useful.
Filter Forge is a a Photoshop plugin and stand-alone program which allows people to use filters created by the Filter Forge community to enhance their images. Many of the filters also create textures which can then be used in work such as 3D texturing. The top of the range versions allow users to create their own filters and effects. Another very good program of a similar vein is Genetica. They are both worth checking out.
Relax with Linux Reading
Since using Ubuntu I have come across some great reading material in PDF format. Some of this material has helped me to get started with installing Linux and using the software and some has just been entertaining while at the same time being informative.
Here is a list of 6 of the best resources I have found:
1. Ubuntu Pocket Guide and Reference
This is a whole free PDF book dedicated to the new Ubuntu user. It begins by giving advice about installing and configuring Ubuntu. Then there is great information about the desktop, the filesystem, the command line, software management and securing the system. This is a must read for the new Ubuntu User.
This is a complete guide to using Linux from UK’s Linux Format magazine. It begins with helping you to install Ubuntu (although you will have to download the latest version of Ubuntu yourself), gives an overview of the desktop and filesystem and then has guides to the software which comes pre-installed with Ubuntu. Another must read for the Linux newbie.
Full Circle Magazine is a monthly free, independent magazine in PDF format dedicated to the Ubuntu family of Linux operating system. It includes How To articles on such things as programming in Python, C and guides to using software such as Gimp, Inkscape, Scribus etc. as well as lots of other interesting articles. This magazine is definitely one to download each month as it is full of entertaining and informative articles and very well presented.
Sadly this magazine has ceased publication but all 20 PDF magazines are still available for download. It includes guides to using Gimp, Open Office and many other tips and reviews for new users of Linux. Although these issues are old, the information is still worth reading.
This is a new quarterly magazine dedicated to new users of Ubuntu. I came across Issue 2 last month and it was a great find. I was brand new to Ubuntu at the time and this magazine helped me to get to know my way around the operating system and all the programs included as standard. I was pleased to see several PDF documents of articles from Issue 1 in the archive on their website and I am looking forward to Issue 3 in November. It will be interesting to see where this magazine goes and whether it will advance with its readers increasing knowledge of Ubuntu.
This isn’t really a read but more of a listen! Great for those times when your eyes are tired from all that reading or for listening to while travelling. This podcast is both fun and informative.
Have I missed out your favourite? If so, please let me know.
Reflections on Linux and Trojans
Since I began using Ubuntu I have encountered some strange reactions, especially from people who have never tried Linux before or have had very limited experience of very early versions of Linux. These reactions have ranged from people hearing good things about Linux and curious about how I am getting on with it and perhaps toying with the idea of trying it out for themselves to those people who find it incredulous that I could ever think of using anything but Windows. Afterall Windows is the most popular operating system so surely it must be the best, seems to be their illogical reasoning!
Linux also seems to instill feelings of fear in some Windows users. They do not even want to try Linux on one of my computers. It’s almost as if they think that touching a computer with Linux installed will contaminate them in some way or perhaps it is just the fear of the unknown that is getting the better of them. However, after fighting with the removal of a trojan on a Windows XP netbook last night, I have first hand experience of the advantage of a Linux environment! For any Windows users wondering how to start to clean their system after becoming infected the Geeks to Go, Malware and Spyware Cleaning Guide is a great help.
It has been a few weeks now since I first installed Ubuntu and the experience has been totally pleasurable. However, I am still dual booting and cannot see a time at the moment when Linux will be my sole operating system. The main problem is with a lack of industry standard programs such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver being able to run under a native Linux operating system. Gimp and Inkscape seem to be very good substitutes and for hobbyist users they are ideal. However, I am not so sure about them taking the place of Photoshop and Illustrator in commercial situations. There are also no equivalents to Poser, Vue or Modo so I think I will be dual booting for some time yet. However, for someone who mainly does web browsing, email and photo touch-ups, Ubuntu is a great introduction to the world of Linux. On the other hand, I am very happy to have Linux as a web development testing environment and have found Bluefish to be a good substitute for Dreamweaver.
I was very interested to come across three blogs where the authors changed their operating systems for a limited period of time. At AyeTea, A Room Without Windows a group of experienced windows users tried out Linux for 30 days and at Kiloblog the opposite happened. Interestingly, at What the Tech the author changed from Windows when he bought himself a new MacBook Pro. I’ve been thinking of changing to a Mac for years but the expense has always been a deterrent because, as well as buying a new machine with a new OS, it would also be necessary to buy all my software again in the Mac versions. This is one of the great things about Linux. It costs nothing to try out except a little time in setting it up and becoming familiar with it.
New Linux User
Yep, I have become a new user of Ubuntu Linux!
How did this strange phenomenon happen?
Well, one of the hard drives in my laptop became faulty and in the process Windows Vista self-destructed. In an effort to rescue some of the data on the hard drive I ran Ubuntu from a Live CD. I was too new to the Linux environment to be able to mount the internal drives on my laptop and as the laptop was still under warranty I decided not to mess around with it too much until it had been repaired.
However, I was still without a working operating system and it was going to take the guys a few days to pick up the machine to repair it so I decided to install Ubuntu on an external hard drive so I would at least be able to access my email and my websites.
The installation process went flawlessly and my laptop connected to the internet immediately. It was rather strange at first but similar enough to Windows to pose no real problems. Firefox and an email client were already installed so less than thirty minutes later I was connected to the internet and retrieving my emails.
When the guys came to collect my laptop for repair I was rather sad to lose Ubuntu so I dug out my old desktop PC and installed Ubuntu onto it, selecting the option to dual boot with Windows XP and Ubuntu. Once again, the installation process was flawless except this time it did not recognise my USB wireless adapter. Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distro so online support is very easy to find and with the help of the Ubuntu forums I managed to find instructions to set up my wireless adapter.
Being of an inquisitive nature I also had to try out Fedora and Mandriva. However, I am very impressed with Ubuntu and, due to its popularity and hence vast wealth on knowledge on the internet, I decided to stick with it.
At the moment I am in the process of setting up a PHP/MySQL testing environment and finding equivalent Linux substitutes for my Windows programs. The main Windows programs I miss are Photoshop and Dreamweaver. Ubuntu comes with Gimp (a Photoshop substitute) pre-installed but I’ve been using Photoshop for so long that Gimp seems a bit awkward at the moment. I’ve looked at various programs to replace Dreamweaver. Bluefish and Netbeans seem to be the closest I have found but it is too soon to say whether either of them will replace Dreamweaver. I have heard that both Photoshop and Dreamweaver will run under Wine but I have not tried this yet. At the moment I am still exploring the native programs and playing with the desktop and other special effects!
If you are also wondering about installing Ubuntu, I would advise you to go ahead and give it a try. I am trying to convince P that he should replace Vista on his 1GB laptop with Ubuntu but, while he is interested, he is still a little hestitant to take the plunge. Maybe one day!
6 PHP Session Tutorials
Six PHP Session Tutorials to help when using sessions:
- PHP session tutorial – a clear basic introduction from PHP F1
- Managing Users with PHP Sessions and MySQL - building a logging in system from Sitepoint
- Basic PHP Session – from about.com
- Using Sessions in PHP – building a membership system
- Session Control and Cookies
- Sessions and cookies: Adding state to a stateless protocol – at PHP Freaks