devnulled: A stream for software developers and engineers

I’m recompiling PHP5 on my server to add PostgreSQL support, and couldn’t figure-out why all of the various mod_php* ports had disappeared from the ports/www. Turns out you need to enable PHP to do its own Apache support now. To have PHP build an SO for Apache:


bash-2.05b# cd /usr/ports/lang/php5
bash-2.05b# make config


Select the check box that mentions Apache, and you should be good to go.

Don’t forget to do the same steps in lang/php5-extensions to install things such as MySQL support if you’re upgrading or installing PHP5.

This change is kind of annoying as I’d rather be able to build mod_php independently since it’s more intuitive, but oh well.

Hmm, this is something I need to try out when I have some more free time:

In this article, I’ll explain how to configure a Windows XP Professional computer to accept incoming VPN connections and discuss some tips on improving the remote access experience for the VPN client computer user.

This will basically allow you to use your home network just as if you were at home and is a much more secure way to access your machine at home via Remote Desktop / Terminal Services. Read more about how to set-up your Windows XP Professional workstation as a VPN server here.

While I do not posess a lot of the dead giveaway traits of a typical geek (I’m not into fantasy stuff like Lord of The Rings at all, have never played DnD, I can talk to the opposite sex without staring at my feet, etc), there are certainly some traits I do have. I almost hate to admit it, but one of my favorite TV channels over the past few months has been the Research Channel. It’s on channel 9000-something on Dish Network, and is essentially just a bunch of recorded college lectures in the fields of Science and Technology. Over the past few months I’ve seen lectures on everything from Obesity (guilty as charged) to the Internet2, and it’s been super great.

If you’re of curious mind and get tired of watching 800 commercials for 2 minutes of light content, I’d highly recommend checking it out. You can also stream it from their website, as well as watch old shows. I’d say it’s sort of a cross between PBS and C-Span for sci-tech really, but probably very dry if you never found yourself enjoying any college lectures.

If you’ve been getting calls from an unknown number and don’t answer calls from toll-free or unlisted numbers like myself, you might see if the number you’re receiving calls from is on this list.

…you’re tempted to contact the database vendor providing the driver and open yet another ticket because you think this method in said driver returns an incorrect value:

public boolean jdbcCompliant()
{
return true;
}

Although this one might be a good one to fix too:

public ResultSet getPrimaryKeys(String s, String s1, String s2)
throws SQLException
{
throw new OdxCLJException(25500);
}

That is all.

I recently opted to wait on switching to OSX for one more buying cycle for a variety of reasons and purchased a Dell Inspiron E1505. I’m really happy with my decision, and I’m actually quite surprised how much I use it. In fact, the only thing I even use my desktop at home now is for playing music. The ergonomics of a laptop scared me quite a bit as I’m used to using MS Natural Keyboards, but now I’m totally used to the keyboard. I did however give-up on the touch pad because of the loss in productivity and bought yet another Perfit Optical Mouse to use with my laptop.

The battery life is really quite good– my laptop lasts a bit over 6 hours per charge even while using wireless networking, and I have two batteries so I cant really even envision a situation where I’d be using it for more than 12 hours without a power outlet. Granted I did buy the extra life batteries, so I’d expect them to be decent. Windows XP Media Center 2005 seems to be pretty slick and I can’t say I have any qualms about it versus having Windows XP Pro. Though honestly I have yet to try out any of the extra media hooha (more on that below).

The build quality and fit & feel of the laptop is about average I guess, but I also bought a midrange laptop, so I think it’s perfectly acceptable for the price I paid. I wasn’t really sure how much I’d use a laptop so I didn’t want to go all crazy, but perhaps next time I’ll be willing to spend a bit more.

About the only thing that I really don’t like about this laptop is that the TV Tuner card came as a seperate box! I just assumed that stuff would be built into the laptop. Because of that, I haven’t even taken the TV Tuner out of the plastic bag to even try it out. The latch which holds the screen shut also seems kind of cheesy.. if I traveled a lot with this machine I think I’d probably find a way to break it.

Overall I think I got a great deal, and am really pretty pleased with the laptop at this point.