Binary Expressions

Background Knowledge

The following is the process I took to upgrade a web server with PHP v5.2.5 to PHP v5.2.8 running on OpenBSD. PEAR is already installed on this system and up to date. I wasn’t sure if I should exclude PEAR at install or not so therefore did not tell the configurator to exclude PEAR at install.

Installation Process

1. Download the latest stable PHP release from command prompt # wget http://ca.php.net/get/php-5.2.8.tar.gz/from/a/mirror
2. # tar -zxvf php-5.2.8.tar.gz
3. ./configure –with-mysql=/usr/local –with-mssql=/usr/local –with-apxs –with-zlib-dir=/usr/lib –with-config-file-path=/var/www/conf –with-iconv=/usr/local/bin/iconv –enable-exif –enable-mbstring –enable-calendar
4. # make
5. # make test
6. # make install
7. # make clean

As far as I could tell in the PHP 5 ChangeLog since at least PHP v5.2.5 there has not be any changes made to the php.ini configuration file. Therefore I chose to leave the PHP configuration file (php.ini) that was being used with PHP v5.2.5 for PHP v5.2.8.

Issues

1. At configure I received the following message “checking for a sed that does not truncate output… (cached) /usr/bin/sed
   expr: syntax error ./configure[2322]: test: 0: unexpected operator/operand expr: syntax error ./configure[2337]: test: 0: unexpected operator/operand”

I’m not sure what to make of this error message. I tried to search on Google but was not successful finding any answers. I tested my PHP installation and all appears to be okay. If anyone knows what exactly this error means and how to resolve it please let me know.

This video has been going around for some time now, but I think its worth the post for those that have yet to see it.

Video Source: The Web Site is Down

I ran across this great experiment Kingpin tried testing how far one could go not signing your signature properly when making credit card purchases. He’s definitely proven a point and made a hilarious experience. A must read I must say.

Source: Drunk Republic: When Your Credit Card Signature Fun Backfires

Background Knowledge

I have Windows Vista with Adobe Acrobat Professional v8.1.3 installed and I was trying to covert to Adobe PDF within Microsoft Publisher 2007.

Error Message

Acrobat PDFMaker reported the following error message dialog, “Adobe PDF Printer is not bound to Adobe PDF Port. Cannot proceed further. Kindly change the PDF Port to Adobe PDF Port in Adobe PDF Printer Settings”.

Solution

1. Go to Control Panel -> Printers.
2. Right mouse click on “Adobe PDF” and left click on “Properties”.
3. Left mouse click on “Ports” tab.
4. Uncheck mark the current port that is presently check marked. Place a checkmark on either “Desktop\*.pdf” or “Documents\*.pdf”. Ensure the description is “Adobe PDF Port”.
5. Left click on “Ok” button then close the printers window.

Background Knowledge

Today (2008-01-12) I loaded Pidgin and discovered that I was no longer able to connect to MSN. It appears either Microsoft is blocking the connection or a new version has been release. What the cause of the matter is I have not been able to verify with certainty at this time.

UPDATE: Pidgin v2.5.4 has been released that temporarily fixes the problem.

Error Message

“Unable to Retrieve MSN Address Book using Pidgin”. See screen shot of the error message below.

Solution

1. Close Pidgin application.
2. Download and install “msn-pecan“.
3. Run Pidgin application.
4. In Pidgin “Show Buddy List” and go to the menu “Accounts” -> “Manage Accounts”.
5. Modify your MSN account, ensure the protocol shows “MSN”.
6. Change “Protocol” to “WLM” and then click “Save”.
7. Login to your MSN account.

Source: MSN Network Service Status
Source: Pidgin : Unable to retrieve MSN address list
Source: msn-pecan

I was running a hard drive diagnostic using SeaTools for DOS v1.09PH on two exactly the same Maxtor hard drives, see details of the drives below. When I attempted to run a quick scan and then a long scan it received a warning “Overtemp–253″. After doing some research I have come to the conclusion that with certainty that this doesn’t mean the hard drive is running at 253 degrees Fahrenheit. My two drives are well ventilated and do not even feel warm to the touch. In fact this message apparently means according to Seagate that the hard drive does not support SeaTools reading temperatures.

• Brand: Maxtor
• Model: 6Y060L0
• FW: YAR41BW0

Source: Incorrect temperature values for a Maxtor disk

Background Knowledge

With the use of Samba we are able to share files through a local network and make it appear as if the files are on the Mac OS X locally. The instructions below will step you through step by step on how to access files from the Mac OS X to a Windows XP/Vista™ system through the network.

NOTE: Instructions to unblock network traffic through a software/hardware firewall are not provided. Refer to your software/network manual or support web site for details.

NOTE: These instructions will not allow for sharing via the Internet.

Solution

Setting up a file share in Windows XP

1. Open Windows Explorer/My Computer (press Windows Key+E) or go to the Windows Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Explorer.
2. Browse to a folder you wish to share and right mouse click on it and left mouse click on “Properties”.
3. Select the “Sharing” tab at the top of the “Properties” dialog.
4. Left mouse click on “Share this folder on the network” and type in a desired “Share name”. It’s best to keep the share name no more then 12 characters to ensure the share will work. If you wish to save files from the Mac to this share left mouse click on “Allow network users to change my files”.
5. Left mouse click on the “Ok” button.

Setting up a file share in Windows Vista™

1. Open Windows Explorer/My Computer (press Windows Key+E) or go to the Windows Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Explorer.
2. Browse to a folder you wish to share and right mouse click on it and left mouse click on “Share…”.
3. To the left of the “Add” button click the down arrow and select “Everyone” then left mouse click “Add” button.
4. Left mouse click on “Share”.

   Note: Make note of path showing how to access the share you just setup (ie. \\foobar\helloworld) as you will need this later so you can connect from the Mac. Only exception is that you will need to change the backslashes to slashes on the Mac.

5. Left mouse click “Done” button.

Connect to the share via the Mac

1. In Finder go to Go -> Connect to Server.
2. Under “Server Address” enter “smb://” then the Windows computer name or IP address followed by a slash and the Windows share name (ie. smb://192.168.0.103/foo or smb://foobar/myshare).

Source: Mount Windows Shared Folder on Your Mac OS X

Here is my experience trying to run OpenBSD with XenServer 5 Enterprise.

• XenServer console doesn’t function properly as it keeps overlaying text displayed previously or anything you have typed into the console. Makes it very difficult to read and see what you are doing. As well it appears numerpad with numlock on does not work either. The best work around is to SSH into OpenBSD.
• Receiving the following error messages at boot up, “clock: unknown CMOS layout” and “rl0: watchdog timeout”. Yes the NIC is being detected as a Realteak 8139. If I check /var/run/dmesg.boot out of the two error messages I only see the “clock: unknown CMOS layout”. So I would assume the watchdog timeout message occurs after initial boot sequence.

The biggest question is OpenBSD on XenServer 5 Enterprise consider production ready even if the errors cannot be resolved?

I’ve tried locating some definite solutions but I have yet to find anything and it appears that the network card issue maybe due to XenServer 5 itself. Any suggestions on how to solve these error messages and fix the XenServer OpenBSD console?

Source: Nabble – OpenBSD User Misc – OpenBSD and XenSource
Source: Citrix Forums – Change network device model for guest

Source: What does “watchdog timeout” signify?
Source: watchdog(4) manpage

Finding free quality wallpaper is hard and its even harder to find quality wallpaper for Christmas. Here is a couple sources I came across with a pretty good selection. If you have any suggestions of other sources for the holiday season drop a comment.

Source: CSSBuilt – 29 Beautiful Christmas Wallpapers
Source: CSS Count – 30 List of Stunning Christmas Wallpapers

How would one concatenate strings from a column (multiple rows) into a single row using MySQL? I see its possible with MS SQL Server 2005 and above. Any incite into how to achieve this in MySQL would be much appreciated.

MS SQL Server 2005 – Example

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SELECT Web_Account_ID,
GroupNameConcat = REPLACE(
	(
	SELECT
		Web_Account_Group_Name_ID AS [DATA()]
	FROM
		tblWebAccountGroup WAG
	WHERE
		WAG.Web_Account_ID = WA.Web_Account_ID
	ORDER BY
		Web_Account_Group_Name_ID
            FOR XML PATH ('')
        ), ' ', ',')
FROM tblWebAccounts WA
ORDER BY Web_Account_ID

Query Results Example

Source: aspfaq.com – How do I concatenate strings from a column into a single row?

The country of Israel is broken up into 6 administrative districts with 15 sub-districts and 50 natural regions. It is my understanding according to the Isarael Central Bureau Statistics that the sub-districts are similar to what we call Provinces/States in North America and the natural regions are similar to municipalities/counties.

I’m not fully understanding the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and East Jerusalem. Are they territories of Israel or a part of another country? How would one reference where you lived if you were lived in one of these regions (ie. West Bank, Isarel)?

This knowledge maybe helpful for those that need to reference contact information or allow clients to select their country and province/state/district.

Source: Israel Central Bureau Statistics
Source: Districts of Israel
Source: Wikipedia on Israel

Background Knowledge

For some unknown reason my Windows Vista™ Ultimate with service pack 1 quit mounting USB flash drives. I’ve tried multiple flash drives and none would mount as a removable drive. At first I started to use a different USB port but eventually it didn’t matter what USB port I used the USB flash drives would no longer mount. I know for a fact my USB flash drives are fine as they mounted without any problems ever on Windows 2000 with service pack 4, Windows XP with service pack 2 and Edubuntu.

Solution

Uninstall the USB device dirver(s) that you are experiencing problems with. This can be done via your Windows Vista™ device manager or what I recommend to use is “USBDeview” (freeware) software application produce by NirSoft.

WARNING: Uninstall device drivers at your own risk.

NOTE: Be cautious uninstalling USB device drivers as you may render your keyboard, mouse or other devices unusable. Rebooting the computer system or plugging the USB device back into the system should cause the device drivers to reinstall. A manual installation of the device driver maybe required.

Uninstall USB Device(s) via Windows Vista™ Device Manager

1. Go to Control Panel -> System or just press Windows Key + Pause (press and hold the Windows key then press the Pause key).
2. On the left hand side left mouse click on “Device Manager”.
3. Double left mouse click on “Universal Serial Bus controllers”.
4. Right mouse click on the USB device driver you wish to uninstall and then left mouse click on “Uninstall”. Repeat this step for each device you wish to uninstall.
5. A “Comfirm Device Uninstall” dialog will appear, left mouse click on “OK”.
6. Close “Device Manager” window.
7. Reboot (restart) computer system.

Uninstall USB Device(s) via USBDeview

1. Load the “USBDeview” software application.
2. Select the device(s) you wish to uninstall. Right mouse click on one of the device(s) and then left mouse click on “Uninstall Selected Devices”.
3. You will be prompted with a confirmation dialog, left mouse click on “Yes” to uninstall device driver(s).
4. Close “USBDeview” software application.
5. Reboot (restart) computer system.

Source: Download NirSoft’s USBDeview for Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista.