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Set up a sandbox to test PHP Apps: Part 1, Set up the VM

In this short tutorial series I’m going to teach you how to set up a Linux Apache MySql PHP(LAMP). We will be using free and open source software for this tutorial.  The Linux operating system we will be using is Ubuntu 11.04, my favorite Linux distro. VirtualBox will be the virtual Machine we will be using, but most of this tutorial should work with other virtual machines. At the end of this tutorial you should have a working server which can run PHP scripts, also will have PhpMyAdmin for your database.

Tools you will need:

First lets download and grab all the tools we will need.

You can download VirtualBox for free at http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads which works for both Mac and Windows, you can install this like a normal Mac or Windows app. Since i’m using a Mac right now, i’ll download the one for OS X hosts.

Next you will need the Ubuntu ISO. You can get that at http://www.ubuntu.com/download/server/download. I got the 32 bit version.

Next your going to want a way to SSH in to your server. On Mac you can use the Terminal. On Windows you can use Putty. You can download it at http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html.

Your going to need a SFTP client to transfer files and understand how to use it. Check out my How to SFTP tutorial.

Last you need a text editor. You can use anyone really, it just needs to be pain text.

Set up the virtual Machine:

First you need to install Virtual if you don’t have it installed already. This is the same as installing just about any other app. Click the installer and follow the setup wizard.

After Virtual Box is installed, we have to then create a virtual Machine.  To start click on the new icon.

Continue reading

How to SFTP

This short tutorial will show you have to SFTP with Cyberduck and FileZilla.

You can download CyberDuck at http://cyberduck.ch for both Mac and Windows.
You can download FileZilla at http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client

Looking at the social web

2003-2006

The year is 2003-2006, MySpace is where you could just find about everyone your age. Everyone I knew in School had a MySpace, I had a MySpace. Teachers, Law Enforcement and adults would bad mouth and speak out against the website making it seem worser then it really was by saying it was unsafe. Maybe it was unsafe back then due to some hacks, but other than that talking to a random dude at a bus stop is kinda unsafe also, it’s a risk you can take, you could meet a creepy serial killer or some nice guy because you never really know till you try to talk to someone and get to know them. I remember one of my teachers got this crazy woman who seemed Anti-Tech to come in and give a slide show. She showed how she would hack in to MySpace and show all this set private information. At the end, where people would ask questions, people asked how she hacked it and she said she wasn’t going to tell because she knew we kids would do it.

I kinda think looking back now, she wasn’t really hacking as you would think. I looked up information on it before and all the so called “hacks” don’t work anymore. The way they would work is you would take the persons MySpace user id, not the username, but the number like say 10290292298(random number i just typed) and use that id with different urls because it didn’t check privacy in some areas. Also teachers and other adults would say privacy settings didn’t matter. I never understood why, maybe because of the hacks that got fixed. I always did and i do today trust privacy settings when they are set right and implemented by the social networking site correctly.

So back then All of us young people liked it. Teachers hated MySpace. I once taught people in my class in English back in middle school how to use proxies. About a few days later, after different teachers noticed people were on MySpace when it was blocked, our principle went to the class rooms in the eighth grade one morning to talk to us about it. He told us if any of us got caught from now on we would lose our computer privileges for the rest of the year. He said he would also report our MySpace name to MySpace so they would delete our account. I’m not sure if MySpace would really delete an account just because a principle told them to, i really doubt it. I think he was saying it just to scare us. Not all of us was under 13. But i don’t think the principle or any teachers really found out who showed people how to use proxies. Continue reading

Thoughts on ChromeBooks and the Cloud in genreal

I have a CR-48. I like it, but then again i don’t like it. I think something like this is too early. I currently use both Web Apps and Legacy apps. Like some 3D Virtual worlds like Second Life, won’t run on it. Also another issue i have with it, is what ever data you put on it, other parties have it also. Like me as being a programmer, not sure if I would want to trust some free cloud integrated development environment (IDE) company with my code I never even heard of till i found them in a Google search. Maybe my code isn’t worth a lot to others, maybe it is. I don’t want to risk it getting stolen. Back when the iPhone first came out, people laughed at it and was thinking wow, what a dumb device. Now everyone knows the iPhone is awesome. So maybe I’m wrong, but i think something like this is early.

I do think this is a great start for the idea of web apps, and we(as in Developers, Businesses and society.) have to start somewhere. More improvements will come, over time. I like the idea of a computer that updates, without much work or wait on my part. My CR-48 updates faster than my Laptop with Windows 7. The CR-48 has a weak processor in my opinion. My Laptop with Windows 7 is a Intel Centrino, Dual Core. CR-48 has 2GB of ram, my laptop with Win7 has 4. The CR-48 downloads your update in the background, then you reboot and login. Updates are seamless. My PC with Windows 7 is set up to ask me, so once i download the update. Then once i saved all my data, closed my apps. I can reboot to install the updates. Then Windows 7 makes me wait to config the update. Wait a few minutes or longer. Then login, wait for apps to start up and then do what i want. So i agree the CR-48 updates and boots up quicker than my PC running Windows 7 or Even my Mac and it does all that with limited hardware specs, that just amazes me. If you want a PC to boot up and update that fast, i think you will pay more than the price of a ChromeBook. Plus web apps are updated, done automatically on the server. Also new versions are free, no upgrade costs. Web apps have a subscription model, free or freemium, not buying them right out. So yes, the CR-48 is more end user friendly. Continue reading

The Motion Picture Industry makes me mad

I rent movies from Block Buster but now I’m pissed off big time. first of all some disks won’t allow you to skip your shitty ads. Now i noticed something new. On the movie Repo Man I wanted to watch the Unions Commercials and deleted scenes under bonus Features but i got a black screen with white text with a message that said

“This disk is intended for rental purposes and only includes the feature film.

Own it on Blu-Ray™ or DVD to view theses bonus features and complete your movie watching experience.”

Now I’m not sure if this is only Universal Pictures or the whole industry. But from what i seen so far, The Motion Picture Industry likes to act as a whole and is like a cult. Like most people I won’t want to watch a movie over and over unless it’s really great like Avatar or The Social network(I am going to buy it on DVD in Jan when its said to come out). I like to rent my movies on DVD because I can watch it in the comfort on the couch in my own living room, movie theater seats aren’t that comfy.

I also like to check bonus features. I don’t believe iTunes, Blockbuster online or Netflix Rentals online allow that, but if they do correct me. I know for sure Time Warner Cable On demand rentals don’t have bonus features. So I like to have a physical disk for bonus features. So if you not going to give me any bonus features on rentals, well I guess I won’t be renting any more movies and boycott big movie studios all together, unless it’s a really good movie people talk about.

There is a lot of free legal content like Revision3, YouTube, Web Originals on Clicker and more. Remember big movie studios, you aren’t the only ones who can produce great content. AppleAdobe and more makes tools for us to produce content.  I am a pissed off customer of yours. So I hope you take this feedback and clean up your act. As time goes by and equipment becomes better and cheaper, you will start to see even better content made by small studios. So consider this your one and only warning that you need to clean up your act.  The Music Industry has learned they had to clean up their act and they did. Its your turn now movie Industry.

Are Search Engines just as bad as the Gnutella network that LimeWire used?

Well recently you may have seen in the news that the Limewire pear to pear operations has been shut down and if you visit the Limewire website you will see a notice stating why.

LimeWire Legal Notice

LimeWire Legal Notice

So LimeWire p2p got shutdown because they allowed people to download illegal content. Not all content on the network was illegal but most people abused it. Some people will make a version of Linux or do podcasts and use the Network to send them out without having to host it using bandwidth transfer and disk space on their own web server/hosting plan. This is the same with torrents. So the Torrent and LimeWire technology can be used for good but it sadly abused.  LimeWire is a client that connects to the Gnutella network. There are still clients out there that can connect to the Gnutella network not made by LimeWire.  The way P2p file sending works is someone will add a file to the network and with their client open, the file is accessible. Each client acts as a node on the network. Clients can search Gnutella index or the torrent trackers index. A client will then start downloading from all the nodes with that file on the network. So basically Gnutella or Torrent Tracker stores information that contains where the file is located. The file itself isn’t on the trackers server. LimeWire use the Gnutella network by default or you could give it a torrent file from some other tracker/network. This is my understanding on this technology and please correct me if I am wrong.

So lets put this in context. Your web browser of choice is a client.  Google is the network Index. Some other server hosts the file. Continue reading

Pizza Delivery in the future

About a week ago Google Announces they have played around with a self driving car. So this is my vision of how you would order pizza using this technology.

The Car i vision. Crappy picture i drew in paint.

 

We all know pizza sucks unless its Delivery. So the ordering process would be.

1. Call or visit the web like you would today. You would have to give your phone number also.

2. The pizza place makes your order and loads your order.

3. They send the car off to your location you told them when ordering.

4. The car goes to your location and you pay then get your order.

5. The car goes back to pizza shop.

So when after your order is done being made, on the computer that they put your order in via phone or you via web they pick a car, So say Car Id 7  is available. The computer loads the order information, The list of your order and price. They open the handle on the slot and put the pizza in and close it. It then locks it. They then back away and after it detects no one is close to it, it then starts driving to the house or place of business of the customer.

Then when the car gets to your location the car will then alert the pizza company computer system the car is at your location, how long it drove and triggers a phone call. It then keeps calling every 1 minutes up to 10 times and then leaves if you don’t pick up. Then once you pick up, it then adds 10 minutes to the timer. Once 10 min is up, it calls you and if you pick up it adds 10 more else if leaves. Once you get to it. The car will say your name (Jane Doe in this case and the price.) You pay it via credit card or put money in similar to how you would with a soda vending machine. You open the handle and take your order out. It also prints a receipt or maybe they could put it on the box. Once you close the door on the pizza vendor built-in to the side of the car, The car drives back to the pizza place after it detects if safe to do so. Also these cars would not have to be full size. Could be built-in to a smaller 2 door car.

Then maybe they can come up with a way to make pizza by robots and load them on the car. Then maybe we can have 24/7/365¼ Pizza ordering!

Thoughts on College

Well as I am writing this, I am still in High School, I do go to an online charter school so I do have more free time than most high school students. Got about 2 years left. Almost 18.  So thinking about college isn’t far off. Well my Family wants me to go to college. They want me to be a doctor or lawyer. My grandpa helps funds my servers and he kind of doesn’t understand this web stuff, he thinks its something I’ll grow out of it. Right now I been work on my Start up NewHills.com that isn’t open yet.  I really hope it becomes something big but I kind of doubt it. So if I go to college I’ll have something to fail back on but I have not decided yet. Continue reading

My Prediction of the future car and laws around it

My Prediction of the future car and laws around it

I predict the feature car will still look about the same as they do today. I predict this car will come around 2014, 2015. I predict the DMV will no longer be ran by the state but by the federal Government. I predict you won’t have to pay road tax each time you fill up but by the mile. I predict cars made before 2014 and 2015 would be outlawed.  Your car will make the Government money when it’s parked.  Also the government will know every move the car made. Why do I think this will happen? The Electric car. The Electric does not take gas, so I think in the short time you will have to report your miles but people may lie so a on-board computer would do it. But I will start with buying your car. This will be applied to both Electric and Gas cars.

Step 1: Finding the car – You go to car lot. You see a nice car. You ask if you can demo it. The sales rep puts in the ID card reader a Dealership card (A card for a company car) and lets you test it. You like it so you buy it.

Step 2: Buying the car. The dealer gets the vin and you both walk to a computer in his office. The sales man types in the vin to find in the dealers DVM Account. You set down at a screen read all the paper work and then put in your driver license card and agree. The dealer then hits transfer and the car is now registered to your name. Then the next screen allows you to add or buy new insurance for the car. It then asks you if you want to add anyone else to drive the car up to 10 people. You then have your wife and son put in his card. He’s now added. You then go to the parking lot.

Step 3: You go out, you see you see an Ad for some business on your license plate.  You then scan your license on the door to unlock it, and then put in your license to start it, you notice on the dash how many miles you want how much road tax you pay per miles and how much you have to pay. You also have seen your plate number. Also the plat outside of your car is showing it also. When the Engine is off it will show a new ad every 30 to 60 seconds. Companies can buy ads at advertising.gov on the new system.

Step 4: You can go to your DMV account and pay the miles so far and clear the miles you want so far. Also when you file with the IRS, they will reset it and add it to the fees you owe them.

Step 5: You drove home but you passed an old man getting shot in a building. You’re GPS and Crime Scene was close.  Next day you get a call asking you and whoever was in the car to come to the police station to get your blood taken, Hair sample, Spit Sample, tons of questions and lie detector test. You are now a suspect for a crime you never did or knew about.

Step 6: You have to take your car in for a checkup every 90 days. This report will be sent to you and the DVM. Also they will check for a software update.

iPhone 4 is out today

The Apple iPhone 4 is out today on Thursday June 24 2010.

Retina Display

I think the Retina Display is one of the coolest things on the new iPhone 4. Its has a resolution of  960 by 640 PX. 326 Pixels per Inch which is more then the human eye can see, It can’t even distinguish each individual pixels.

FaceTime

FaceTime is video calling for the iPhone 4. You can only call other iPhone 4’s and it works over Wifi only.

Continue reading

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