exec: The valuable friend to shared hosting

All the bloggers start out small. You won’t start blogging by paying over $20 for hosting per month. So, you go for cheap shared hosting. That is a very nice solution but it has a small problem. You don’t get to have a console access to the machine that your blog is hosted (except for BlueHost and a few others). Although in most cases you won’t care about it, there are a few times where such an access is more than valuable and time saving.

The most common problem with a blog powered by WordPress, is not being able to use the automatic update. When trying to access it, it asks for a username and password of the FTP/SFTP to use in order to update. That of course ruins the simplicity of the automatic update. This problem is caused by the file permissions on the server. When you open an FTP connection to your site, with a major FTP client, you must see a column there with the file permissions. Those must be set, so as to give the web server the permission to write on your files. That is done by adding “write” permission to the group. When you don’t have ssh access to your Linux powered server, that can be troublesome. Using the FTP client will take too long, so you end up updating by hand. Here comes the powerful “exec” command.

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Hosting variables 101

I’ve been active around my online friends lately and i noticed something i thought didn’t exist. There is much confusion about what are all those variables when having to choose for a webhost. Bandwidth, memory, disk space, CPU, managed/unmanaged etc are some terms that make some people sweat out of fear when they have to make up their minds. Some of them also make the choice completely blindly on certain aspects of their hosting and they don’t even know it until trouble comes knocking on the door. I’ve had a chatter with some bloggers over email the past few months and i felt like writing this post to help out anybody that doesn’t feel right contacting me (or anyone that can help) and asking.
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Dumb and dumber root commands

Managing a linux machine can be from extremely easy to extremely difficult depending on the level of abstraction to the system you are willing to use. For instance, using an Ubuntu distribution with an administrator-like user account (that’s a sudo-er) and synaptic, makes things actually pretty easy. But, in my humble opinion, the time when you need to get your hands a bit dirty will come sooner or later. Either you will need a program that is not available from the official sources (so compiling seems to be the only way) or you will be curious on “how can this be done manually”. And then the magic begins…

You start a quest on installing or modifying something and, as the time goes by, you get tired. Now, what is wrong with that? Well, you start typing without really thinking. You just hit the keys on your keyboard and press enter. What’s wrong with that? Well, if you are logged in as root – and chances is that you are since you work on something on the system – then most probably you will be in a lot of trouble. Why’s that? Because, when the system gets a command from his root, his absolute and true God, his one and only master, will do exactly what is told to do. Even if it means messing up things for good.

I can already see a face from all the Ubuntu users with one thought going through their mind “i use sudo”. I would say that sudo is good (too good to be true actually) but when you have a batch of things to do you get tempted on just logging in as root and get it over with (i know that you can do a sudo session but that’s not the point here).

To make things clear we have all been there, including me. You just type and hit enter and ten seconds later you are like “what the @#$%#$%^$%^ have i done!”. In this post i decided to list a few nice and glorious moments i have collected from my experience with Linux and through talking with poor friends. It’s just for fun and not actually to insult or make fun of anyone. So, here i go!

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FunnyInbox: How about a nice laugh?

Here i am with another project of mine! FunnyInbox is my latest work. It all started a few days back when i received a funny email from a friend with an attached video of about 4 megs. Immediately I remembered talking to a friend a few months back where we were saying that all these funny emails give us a nice laugh but fill up our inboxes and put some serious load on the mailserver. Why wouldn’t someone take the time to upload to an external host and then just provide us with the link? Well just because the “Forward” button seems so easy to push. That’s true. So, i decided to put up a site where all my funny e-mails would go. No more forwarding (actually i almost never forwarded). Any funny e-mail that will land on my inbox and i feel it’s funny enough to share it with you guys will go there. My ultimate goal is to create a site that someone, on his spare time, would browse just to take a good dosage of fun. Videos, pictures, picture collections, PPT’s are things i’ll be posting there. I know that there are millions of funny sites out there but frankly i don’t care All i want is a place to collect some fun things and share with friends.

Now, you can also help! If you have any e-mail that you think is funny just forward it to me at the email: mails [at] funnyinbox [dot] net. In return i will include a name and a link back to your site as a thank you. If you want to check out more about sharing please see here.

So, do you like the place? Do you think that you will become a regular?

7 of the most idiotic people of 2008

This email hit my inbox a few minutes ago from my beloved aunt Angie, and when i read it i decided to share this with you guys. I don’t know if this is published somewhere (if so please comment so i can give credits to the author) but i really think you guys are going to enjoy this. So, it’s like a “Golder globe” award to stupidity that took place last year. So here they are in reverse order.

#7 The traffic genius

In a semi-rural area (Weyauwega, Wisconsin) a new neighbor called the local township administrative office to request the removal of the Deer Crossing sign on the road. The reason: ‘Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! “I don’t think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.” I think the township needs to put up an Idiot Crossing sign in front of this guy’s house.

#6 Beeing drunk doesn’t make a difference

Arkansas : Seems this guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he’d just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run.  So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back knocking him unconscious. It seems the liquor store window was made of Plexi-Glass. The whole event was caught on videotape. Yep, here’s your sign.

#5 Don’t move! I mean everybody!

A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, ‘Nobody move!’ When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.
This guy doesn’t even deserve a sign.

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