Neil Merton

Wordpress Unable to use .htaccess

I’m in the process of setting up a new Wordpress site with a new hosting company. The shared environment is *unix-based and the support team confirmed that mod_rewrite module was enabled, but Wordpress still wouldn’t use the pretty Permalinks as expected.

Having a look through the Wordpress Codex site revealed that one of the causes could be that the hosting company might have disabled SERVER_SOFTWARE variable. I tried their instructions and hey-presto it worked.

So, if you are experiencing similar issues I urge you to read the instructions provided in the link.

Cannot Save Hosts File in Vista

Having recently upgraded to Windows Vista to get to grips with IIS7 I opened up the Hosts file to add in a host header for local web development, upon saving it informed me it couldn’t save.

There’s a very simple solution to this:

1. Click Start
2. Click All Programs
3. Click Accessories
4. Right-click Notepad
5. Select Run as administrator

Now when you save the hosts file it will allow you to update. If you’re user is not setup as an Administrator you may be asked to enter the administrator password.

Have fun!

Safari Browser For PC

Well, I guess it was only a matter of time, but Apple have released the latest version of their browser called Safari and it looks like it’s available for Windows users too!

I’ve not had chance to install it yet, but I will do soon. In the meantime why not check it out for yourself?

Download Safari 3 Public Beta from the Apple website.

Update - 20 June 2007: Below is a comparison between Safari & Firefox, you’ll hopefully see that the Safari image is more vibrant.

Nokia N95 Goodness

I recently replaced my ageing T-Mobile MDA Vario with the new Nokia N95 and can honestly say I’m glad I did. Sure, I could have gone for the upgraded Vario II but I really wasn’t using the whole PDA to it’s full extent and felt that it would be a waste. Besides, there’s not much that a PDA does that the N95 can’t!

My first reason for going for the N95 was the 5 megapixel camera - which is an absolute gem! I’m yet to try it out in a dark room, but outdoors it can’t be beaten! The colours are vibrant and the pictures pretty sharp.

Another reason was the GPS - not that I’ve used it much yet, but at least I’ve downloaded all the UK maps so I can hopefully use them to find out where I am if I happen to get lost.

One surprise was the Lifeblog feature. What this does is it logs the messages and photos you take on the phone and then once sync’d with a PC you can easy track what you’ve been up to. I love it!

One other great thing with the N95 is it supports WiFi - so I could sit at home (or anywhere else with wireless access) and surf the net without the hefty download costs.

So if you are due for a new phone - put the N95 on your consideration list!

Update (25 May 2007): To view photos I’ve tagged with Nokia N95 please visit my Flickr page. I’ve also updated the LifeBlog screenshot as it’s changed with version 2.5.

Update (23 May 2007): More useful tips are available from this website.

Update (19 May 2007): Just found a very useful site with lots of useful tips on Lifeblog - It’s called Lifeblog - How to… .

Web2.0* 1.5 Available

I can happily announce that Web2.0* version 1.5 is now available for download.

Here’s a summary of the improvements, fixes, etc:

1. Options Page
   This took up most of the development time. It meant that all the stylesheets had to be edited, along with creating the actual options available (of which there are 41!) Click the thumbnail to view a cropped screenshot.
   - Font options
   - Colour options
   - Change layout from fluid to fixed
2. Bugs
   - Images that are taller than the content will no longer cause the layout of the post meta data and comments to wig-out.
3. Miscellaneous
   - I’ve removed support for Lightbox as it was causing the CSS to be invalid.
   - All the public viewable icons have been replaced with png. This is to aid transparency when the theme’s background colours are changed. For visitors how might still be using Internet Explorer 6 I’ve used transparent gifs - this may look odd if the theme’s background colour is changed to a dark colour. I may try and sort out a fix for this at a later date.
   - I would still like to get the theme i18n compliant, but am not willing to commit to a time-scale. If there is anyone out there who would like to help with this then please do get in touch.

On a final note - This is the final major release of Web2.0* - I will only be updating the theme with fixes as and when bugs are found and reported. Please do not request personal enhancements, etc. My free-time is very limited and I need to concentrate on my paying free-lance work. Thank you for your understanding and more importantly your continued support - it is much appreciated.

Web2.0* 1.5 Nearing Completion

I thought I’d give everyone a little update on the next Web2.0* release - this will be version 1.5.

The biggest part to the update is the inclusion of an Options page for the theme. This will allow you to make many changes to the theme’s appearance from within the Admin Area - no need to touch the stylesheets.

I’m aiming to have this completed by the 1st of May 5th of May.

ALA Web Design Survey

A List Apart has decided to run a Web Design Survey that will hopefully provide people inside (and outside) the web design/development industry useful information about those who are currently employed in this sector.

So, if you’re employed as a Web Designer / Web Developer then why not take the survey (shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes)?