This document Contains information about Installing Ubuntu, Setting up / Configuring: SSH Acces, Apache2, HTTPS, MySQL5, PHP5, XSL / XSLT, Imagick, PDO and Home networking (Although not complete !!)

Ubuntu 7.10, From Installation to Complete Setup - An Idiots guide

Information Covered..

• Initial and Essential Configuration
  • Install
  • Pre Use / Screen Setup
  • Update / Upgrade your new installation
  • Setup SSH Acess
• Setting up the Web Dev Environment
  • Setup Apache2
  • Setup HTTPS / SSL Cert
  • Setup MySQL 5
  • Setup PHP 5
    • Enable XSL / XSLT support
    • Enable Imagick (Image manipulation library
    • Install PDO
• Setting up the home network (SSHFS and NTFS)
  • Installing the Samba Server
  • Connect your Win box to Ubuntu Box

Wordpress’ code is shit… so please read this blog entry / ubuntu how-to on this plain html page.
Click here to read more.

I was recently browsing around looking for information about PHP SPL apart from the standard info on the php manual website.

I came across the following website: http://www.phpro.org 

This website has some really quality written articles about php and also about the php spl library.

If you a up and coming php developer, or already consider yourself a guru then still check the articles, tutorials as its definatly worth a good look as theres lots of information still to be learnt..

Every tried modifying wordpress code ?

After I had an inital look I have been put off. Unfortunatly today work has forced me to get into the guts of wordpress and this stuff is grotesque !

Here is a sample of some code: http://devpipe.pastebin.com/f42a541d2

Please digg / comment if you agree that wordpress is such a messy piece of work it needs a compete ground up re-write and some kind of templating engine used to cut out all this embedded inline php shit.

This thing needs binning a proper application where code is separate from content written.

To Clients

Tell me, when you hire a plumber, do you tell him how to do his job ?

When you hire and electrician do you tell him to change from the red wire to a green one or let him being the expert make the right decisions ?

To Web Developers / Designers

Don’t let clients tell you how they want there website. You the one that knows the SEO, your the one that knows what designs work and what dont.

Sure, take on board the comments, but my all means, if what there saying is shit, tell them so and if they don’t want to know, tell them about the plumber and electrician (see above “To Clients”).

Flow Chart

Here is a simple flow chart i have put together to help determine projects cost and get a bit of a feel for the client.

Its by no means complete, but to plan for everything would mean always to fail and it would only take 1 mis match to screw up everything.

Please leave your thoughts and comments, rel=nofollow is disabled, but if you have a spammy name like “Web design Coventry” i will change your name to ‘Jack’ ..etc and remove your link for being a spammy bastard.

Hello,

I recently did some work for Patrick at Valley Security.

He had a disgusting attitude, with a filthy mouth and was very rude.

For anyone else out there who is planning on contacting valley security services, I would like to offer you this advice:

Save your time, save yourself the trouble, go elsewhere, and don’t even give this tosser a second of your time.

Oh, and Patrick, when you read this, i’d just like to let you know that i was perfectly willing to help resolve the issue you created, but your rude attitude, and disgusting language used to me has just made me think of you, and your company, as not being worth more than the dog shit stuck to the bottom of my shoe, so in no uncertain terms, Fuck you.

For anyone wanting to see the Valley Security Services website, i won’t link and give him any PR juice, but instead it should be #1 here.. Click to see google search for valley security

If you have link power, and feel sorry for another ‘web guy’ being ranted at buy a stupid moron client, please link to me with ‘valley security’ or ’security services’ to make a stand. 

Kind regards,

Tom Taylor

Hello anyone reading, i recently setup my ubuntu 7.10 (Which I’m absoloutley convinced is slower than 7.04) and anyway, here is a few notes from my installation, i hope someone finds some part of it useful. If so.. please comment…

There are 3 main sections:

• Initial Setup
• Look & Feel
• Setting up / configuring the web dev environment

Step 1, initial setup

Hello, this is my guide to setting up my ubuntu dev machine.

Here is my PC setup:

• PC: Dell INSPIRON 530
• Monitor: LG Flatron Wide M228WA

Issues with the INSPIRON 530 from previous ubuntu installations..

I have reinstalled ubuntu many times on the Dell INSPIRON 530, and have encountered a few issues in the past. I will detail them below.

Help, No ethernet !!

Prior to Ubuntu 7.10, if you installed ubuntu on your Dell INSPIRON box, you will find the ethernet on the back is not supported out of the box. To get the ethernet installed, please untar the following archive..

firstly do: wget theatons.com/test/dump/linux-backports-modules_2.6.20-16.tar.gz
then extract: tar xzvf linux-backports-modules_2.6.20-16.tar.gz
then run: sudo dpkg -i linux-backports-modules-generic_2.6.20.16.28.1_i386.deb

You might have to run the other one aswell, in some kind of order, but it makes no harm to just play about running those and then plug in your ethernet, give it 1-2mins to sort it self out, then run ifconfig and you should see your ip having connected via your ethernet.

Incidently the ethernet for the Dell INSPIRON 530 on ubuntu 7.10 works out the box

What about my Dell E228WFP ?

Well i know when i installed with ubuntu 7.04 it only went up to 1024 res out the box, however the correct xorg.conf and guide to getting this to 1680x on my other post here: Setting up the E228WFP with ubuntu.

I don’t know how this is with ubuntu 7.10 as i said i’m now using a LG Flatron Wide M228WA, which incidently is as much more superiour monitor, and works with ubuntu 7.10 out the box at 1680x resolution.

Step 2, personal preferences

Lets get it looking a little better so we can work on it properly..

Big fonts look ugly.

I highly recommend taking down the font-size from the standard ubuntu font-size of 10px to 8’s and 9’s.

Todo this go to ‘System’ -> ‘Preferences’ -> ‘Appearances’ -> ‘Fonts’ and then i use, in this order:

• Application font: 8
• Document font: 8
• Desktop font: 8
• Window title font: 9
• Fixed width font: 9

And keeping the font itself standard feels fine. I also set it to ‘Subpixel smoothing (LCDs)’ but this is all personal preference really.

Getting a start like, ‘windows’ menu…

If your coming from a Windows background, as i’m sure 90% of people are, i recommend a nice easy start style menu, again, all personal preference..

I do the following..

• Add a panel to the top menu, ‘Window list’
• Unlock the top menu and then add into it the ‘Workspace switcher’, ‘Deleted Items’ and ‘Show Desktop’
• Finally ‘Delete’ the bottom pannel, then drag the top pannel to the bottom.

Step 3, Setting up the ultimate webdev environment

What am i talking about ? Just installing the things everyone needs to get along in this web dev mad world !

• Apache 2
• MySQL 5
• PHP 5
• phpmyadmin
• SSL certificate
• mod_rewrite
• PDO and PDO_Mysql
• Imagemagick

Think i’ve missed somthing of the list ? No problem, drop me a comment and i’ll stick it on

Installing the major players, Apache2, MySQL 5, PHP 5, PhpMyAdmin, SSL, Morewrite, PDO and PDO_MYSQL…

I’m not going to bother rewriting all this up, as comprehensive instructions can be found on my previous post, by clicking here

Please note, if you intend on sending requests via CURL from https, when u will need to fix this error: CAfile: /etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
Todo this you simply need to type the following: sudo apt-get install ca-certificates

Want to know how to install Imagemagick on ubuntu ?

No problem if you want to install imagemagick on your pc, ubuntu makes this very easy for you with only a few simple commands..

• Make sure u have pear install ( ’sudo apt-get install php-pear’ )
• Then run: sudo apt-get install imagemagick
• And then: sudo pecl install imagick
  **if you get an error which looks like this: configure: error: Cannot locate configuration program Wand-config
  then no problem, simply run the following command: sudo apt-get install libmagick9-dev
  Now re-run sudo pecl install imagick

All sorted ? Good, now simply add extension=imagick.so to your php.ini and your done

Incidently, if you want to get serious about PHP and Imagemagick, i highly recommend you check out mikko’s imagemagick blog which details lots of examples of using imagemagick and pushing it to the limit. cool stuff.

I want my php to send emails aswell

If you need your php - dev environment to also send emails, simply install any kind of mail program, i use postfix.. sudo apt-get install postifx

Simply select ‘internet site’ if your unsure, make sure you put the mail server name NOT as your @domain.com email, as this will be treated as internal, and not sent via the web. a good server name might be: MyDevBox for example.

What about vim ? And syntax highlighting .. etc ?

Simply type: sudo apt-get install vim-full

Then cd ~/ to get to your homedirectory, then vim .vimrc and put in whatever settings you would like, eg: “syntax enable”. .. you may find some idea’s on the net from other peoples .vimrc files.. have fun

I have also put my personal .vimrc file online which can be found here: My .vimrc file / Vim setup file

Not begun hitting the splogs for some backlinks with the keyword link text yet ?

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Microsoft release IE 7, and claim is as a savouir, yet this huge file is an absoloute piece of shit.

Even the most basic CSS and IE 7 decides to just go off on a tangent and do its own thing. What an complete and utter piece of shit.

Why should i bother to make a website for both IE 5.5, IE 6, IE 7 and no doubt, with different rending properties again, IE 8.

I would like Microsoft to pay for my wasted time and wasted life spent trying to come up with solutions to this fucking shit browsers handling of CSS !

How many times have you hit your head and though .. ‘how do i add a user on mysql again?’

Heres how:

mysql> GRANT ALL ON demo.* TO user1@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword';

Alot of online stores have a ‘discount code’ section, this website lists those discount codes.

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