Windows Start Menu is coming back!

Windows Start Menu is coming back!
Windows Start Menu is coming back!

Microsoft, recognizing the disappointing truth that iOS and Android aren’t going to being chivalrous and slow down while it fixes Windows 8, is planning to speed up its release cadence yet again. The original plan was to push out a large update every 12 months, rather than releasing a whole new operating system every three years. Now, however, it seems the next major update will arrive as soon as August or September, just a few months after the release of Windows 8.1 Update 1. Yes, this means that, after a very odd 18 months in limbo, the Windows Start menu will officially return this summer.

At its Build developer conference at the start of April, alongside the official unveil of Windows 8.1 Update 1, Microsoft teased the audience with a new Windows Start menu and the ability to run windowed Metro apps on the Desktop. Everyone was rather excited: These were the two main features that keyboard-and-mouse users had been clamoring for since Microsoft first revealed the new Metro Start screen way back in June 2011. At the end of the demo, as the audience gave Microsoft a resounding why-did-this-take-you-three-years? round of applause, Microsoft’s OS chief Terry Myerson dropped the bombshell that these features would come in a “future update.”

Source – Windows Start Menu Returns

Installing WordPress on your Webserver

Installing WordPress on your Webserver
Installing WordPress on your Webserver

Installing WordPress

1. Download the WordPress package from here.

2. Create a database and user.

I use PHPadmin to administer my MYSQL databases.

3. Find and rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php, then edit the file.

You need to edit the italicized database settings below:

/** The name of the database for WordPress */
define(‘DB_NAME’, ‘databasename‘);

/** MySQL database username */
define(‘DB_USER’, ‘databaseusername‘);

/** MySQL database password */
define(‘DB_PASSWORD’, ‘databasepassword‘);

You need to go to https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/ and copy and replace the 8 lines of text in your wp-config.php file.

For example purposes only:
define(‘AUTH_KEY’, ‘#{. C`UN|)6_=1^h>JjQ?ca+Lw@tcBQ+Zfjg|loq[C?DBTs%}^,L<gY<+qM+J3kt’);
define(‘SECURE_AUTH_KEY’, ‘X[=iKOtB@YU8TbT?3UJdfhHw)2uw|A|HOX==m%6X+//9^iUe$9%DXR42:]~7x=[+’);
define(‘LOGGED_IN_KEY’, ‘kWQ|(ZVpCaifAOEoS|E#(Bf)P}CWZ=lxAF|6A(S5):d# q|%4C*H|+y?F _B+EA-‘);
define(‘NONCE_KEY’, ‘N,V~=-qBk]Jg|+Ch|x:@-!nC>!=+&?!U4CJkm^f5HG)[Q/]-sM6})<dH;qiFElJO’);
define(‘AUTH_SALT’, ‘b/|ufGg2.zmRru 0[M`%AM8eu!%y6%)obkn*rNLKNFoN;[}=mwcU}L};t.`!U3:s’);
define(‘SECURE_AUTH_SALT’, ‘*RcU,<Rk3meDC%wz:-yc8~J6Gm*[^q~9 ~;A*x<-)12,a4;|xG]-{.lE>+`[|S}X’);
define(‘LOGGED_IN_SALT’, ‘-_;E]q<ca HFFHQf+7qI.pC0ri$hvd5!K;3j>|nu |}*.F<j;xw:Qhf=!:8Vtj`=’);
define(‘NONCE_SALT’, ’97J![-g^w/w%DKL 508NGRfi76I+VoI]G1H+3BXk 9347{Q`H$57!fvx1NC|wwei’);

4. Upload the WordPress files to your desired directory on the Webserver.

5. Run the installation script by going to your website.

More information

WordPress is well-known for its ease of installation. Under most circumstances, installing WordPress is a very simple process and takes less than five minutes to complete. Many web hosts now offer tools (e.g. Fantastico) to automatically install WordPress for you. However, if you wish to install WordPress yourself, the following guide will help. Now with Automatic Upgrade, upgrading is even easier.

Installing Minecraft Server Manager on a Linux Server

Installing Minecraft Server Manager on a Linux Server
Installing Minecraft Server Manager on a Linux Server

Login via SSH with root access and issue the bolded commands.

1. Install Java.

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

2. Install Minecraft Server Manager.

sudo wget -q http://git.io/Sxpr9g -O /tmp/msm && bash /tmp/msm

3. Create your Minecraft Server in MSM.

sudo msm server create <servername>

4. Update to latest Minecraft version on MSM.

sudo msm jargroup create mc172
https://s3.amazonaws.com/Minecraft.Download/versions/1.7.2/minecraft_server.1.7.2.jar
sudo msm jargroup getlatest mc172
sudo msm jar mc172

5. Restart Minecraft Server Manager.

sudo msm server restart

Minecraft Server Manager Documentation

Minecraft Server Manager Commands:

–Setup Commands————————————————
server list                                   List servers
server create <name>                          Creates a new Minecraft server
server delete <name>                          Deletes an existing Minecraft server
server rename <name> <new-name>               Renames an existing Minecraft server

–Server Mangement Commands————————————-
<server> start                                Starts a server
<server> stop [now]                           Stops a server after warning players, or right now
<server> restart [now]                        Restarts a server after warning players, or right now
<server> status                               Show the running/stopped status of a server
<server> connected                            List a servers connected players
<server> worlds list                          Lists the worlds a server has
<server> worlds load                          Creates links to worlds in storage for a server
<server> worlds ram <world>                   Toggles a world’s “in RAM” status
<server> worlds todisk                        Synchronises any “in RAM” worlds to disk a server has
<server> worlds backup                        Makes a backup of all worlds a server has
<server> worlds on|off <world>                Activate or deactivate a world, inactive worlds are not backed up
<server> logroll                              Move a server log to a gziped archive, to reduce lag
<server> backup                               Makes a backup of an entire server directory
<server> jar <jargroup> [<file>]              Sets a server’s jar file
<server> console                              Connects to the interactive console. Access may be limited
<server> config [<setting> <value>]           Lists server settings, or sets a specific setting.

–Server Pass Through Commands———————————-
<server> wl on|off                            Enables/disables server whitelist checking
<server> wl add|remove <player>               Add/remove a player to/from a server’s whitelist
<server> wl list                              List the players whitelisted for a server
<server> bl player add|remove <player>        Ban/pardon a player from/for a server
<server> bl ip add|remove <ip address>        Ban/pardon an IP address from/for a server
<server> bl list                              Lists the banned players and IP address for a server
<server> op add|remove <player>               Add/remove operator status for a player on a server
<server> op list                              Lists the operator players for a server
<server> gm survival|creative <player>        Change the game mode for a player on a server
<server> kick <player>                        Forcibly disconnect a player from a server
<server> say <message>                        Broadcast a (pink) message to all players on a server
<server> time set|add <number>                Set/increment time on a server (0-24000)
<server> toggledownfall                       Toggles rain and snow on a server
<server> give <player> <item> [amount] [data] Gives an entity to a player
<server> xp <player> <amount>                 Gives XP to, or takes away (when negative) XP from, a player
<server> save on|off                          Enable/disable writing world changes to file
<server> save all                             Force the writing of all non-saved world changes to file
<server> cmd <command>                        Send a command string to the server and return
<server> cmdlog <command>                     Same as ‘cmd’ but shows log output afterwards (Ctrl+C to exit)

–Jar Commands————————————————–
jargroup list                                 List the stored jar files.
jargroup create <name> <download-url>         Create a new jar group, with a URL for new downloads
jargroup delete <name>                        Delete a jar group
jargroup rename <name> <new-name>             Rename a jar group
jargroup changeurl <name> <download-url>      Change the download URL for a jar group
jargroup getlatest <name>                     Download the latest jar file for a jar group

–Global Commands———————————————–
start                                         Starts all active servers
stop [now]                                    Stops all running servers
restart [now]                                 Restarts all active servers
version                                       Prints the Minecraft Server Manager version installed
config                                        Displays a list of the config values used by MSM
update [–noinput]                            Replaces MSM files with the latest recommended versions

How to set up your domain Virtual Hosts on a Linux server

How to set up your domain Virtual Hosts on a Linux server
How to set up your domain Virtual Hosts on a Linux server
 Linux Server Domain Virtual Hosts are used to run more than one domain off of a single IP address.

1. Create a Directory.

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/yourdomain.tld/public_html

2. Grant Permissions.

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/yourdomain.tld/public_html
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www

3. Create a page.

sudo nano /var/www/yourdomain.tld/public_html/index.html
Type in nano “Your domain is set up!” then Save and Exit

4, Create the new Virtual Host File.

sudo cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/yourdomain.tld.conf

5. Turn on Virtual Hosts in the configuration.

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/yourdomain.tld.conf
Change or Add the following lines.
ServerAdmin webmaster@yourdomain.tld
ServerName yourdomain.tld
ServerAlias www.yourdomain.tld
DocumentRoot /var/www/yourdomain.tld/public_html

Save

sudo a2ensite yourdomain.tld

6. Restart Apache

sudo service apache2 restart

Domain Virtual Hosts

To use name-based virtual hosting, you must designate the IP address (and possibly port) on the server that will be accepting requests for the hosts. This is configured using the NameVirtualHost directive. In the normal case where any and all IP addresses on the server should be used, you can use * as the argument to NameVirtualHost. If you’re planning to use multiple ports (e.g. running SSL) you should add a Port to the argument, such as *:80. Note that mentioning an IP address in a NameVirtualHost directive does not automatically make the server listen to that IP address. See Setting which addresses and ports Apache uses for more details. In addition, any IP address specified here must be associated with a network interface on the server.

The next step is to create a <VirtualHost> block for each different host that you would like to serve. The argument to the <VirtualHost> directive must match a defined NameVirtualHost directive. (In this usual case, this will be “*:80”). Inside each <VirtualHost> block, you will need at minimum a ServerName directive to designate which host is served and a DocumentRoot directive to show where in the filesystem the content for that host lives.

Installing FTP on a Linux server

Installing FTP on a Linux server
Installing FTP on a Linux server

Enter the commands in Bold
sudo apt-get install vsftpd

If you would like to change options in vsftpd (optional).
sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

Restart FTP service
service vsftpd restart

*Do NOT use the root user to login.

To create a user to upload web files.
adduser <username>
adduser <username> sudo
usermod –home /var/www <username>

Basic LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) installation on a Linux Server

I will assume you have a base system with Ubuntu 13.04 installed and updated.

1. Install Apache2.

sudo apt-get install apache2

[To verify] Direct a browser to the ip address of your server and you should see the placeholder page.

2. Install PHP5.

sudo apt-get install php5 libapache2-mod-php5

Restart Apache after PHP5 installation is completed.

sudo service apache2 restart

[To verify] Create a file named info.php with the following code.

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Place the file in the directory /var/www/html
Display the file in a browser by going to youripaddress/info.php

You should see something similiar to the following.


3. Install MySQL5.

sudo apt-get install mysql-server mysql-client

4. MySQL support in PHP5

Too see the various PHP5 modules available.

apt-cache search php5

Pick the ones you desire and install them.

(php5-mysqlnd is the native MySQL driver)

apt-get install {module}

Restart Apache.

sudo service apache2 restart

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak isn’t impressed: New iPad doesn’t ‘hit my needs’

Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, in Sydney today.

“Yes it’s thinner, but I wanted storage. I don’t have broadband at home, and you can’t get great broadband connection in hotels, so I carry all my personal media in the iPad. So I was hoping Apple has a 256 GB iPad,” said Wozniak. “I was hoping for more storage so I could put every episode of ‘Big Bang Theory’ on my iPad. So I emailed my wife and said, ‘Nope, I don’t want one of those.'”

Source

How to configure a new Windows operating system

windows-evolution

My primary hard drive failed. (Yes, everything was backed up)  I am installing a fresh copy of Windows 7 on it. It really doesn’t matter which Windows OS you are installing. I do these basic steps for all of them.

Install the Operating System. Make sure your BIOS is configured t0 look for the OS setup disk in the optical drive and let it run through the installation. You, of course, will need a valid code.

Download all updates to Windows 7.

Download and Install an anti-virus.

Download and Install CCleaner.

Windows configuration. Tray Icons. Start Menu.

Internet Explorer. Download Flash. Change Homepage. Change search provider. Start collecting favorites or import.