Frustrated that your Mac shows your Time Capsule disk in Finder, but does not mount it automatically? Find it difficult to connect your Time Capsule disk in Finder manually before other applications like iTunes can access files in it? Here is a simple solution. I have created an Automator script that does this for you.

1. Connect to your Time Capsule disk manually for the last time and save your password in Keychain
2. Download this application and save it on your disk
3. Add it as a Login Item in System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items

You are all set. You Time Capsule will be mounted automatically the next time you log on to your Mac.

Download Auto-mount Time Capsule

Note: This script would work only if your Time Capsule is running on its default IP.

Browser Nirvana is a handy, easy to use application specially designed to help web developers test browser-compatibility. It lets you view websites side-by-side on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome / Safari.

The current version of Browser Nirvana (0.1) renders Firefox 3.6, Chrome 5.0, Safari 5.0 and the version of Internet Explorer installed on your PC. You do not need to have Firefox, Chrome or Safari installed on your PC to use this application.

Browser Nirvana is free software under GPL.

Read more and download it from http://bnirvana.sourceforge.net/

Today, I released the first version WELPressed on SourceForge as free software under GPL.

PHP on nginx is a solid setup to serve PHP applications like WordPress in a development environment. There are many guides available that help you configure and run PHP on nginx via FastCGI on Windows. I had also discussed this configuration in my previous post on WELP. Once configured, nginx and PHP FastCGI can be started and stopped from the command line. nginx does not automatically spawn FastCGI processes; you must start them separately. Neither nginx nor PHP provides a friendly GUI through which you can start and stop these services.

WELPressed is a small Windows utility that lets you start and stop nginx and PHP FastCGI in one click. It also makes monitoring the status of these services easy. nginx and PHP FastCGI continue running even after you close WELPressed, so you do not have to keep WELPressed running. You can stop them by opening WELPressed again.

WELPressed was originally written to run WordPress on Windows, nginx, SQLite and PHP (WELP), hence the name.

Read more about WELPressed and download it at http://welpressed.sourceforge.net/

Here is a screenshot:

WordPress has hundreds of themes and thousands of plugins available. But, often you find that the even the theme or plugin that you like most, leave out that one feature or the other that you want dearly. The beauty of WordPress is that you can modify most of those themes or plugins yourself to make them suit your needs completely. Most of us prefer modifying and testing a theme on WordPress hosted on a home computer as working on WordPress hosted on a remote webserver can be a pain.

There are many ways to setup a server environment and install WordPress on your home computer, but most of them involve installing web and database servers which slow down your computer. And, these servers keep running on your computer even when you are not working on WordPress. There are some great tutorials out there that help you install WordPress on lightweight webservers instead of the resource-hungry Apache or IIS, but they still require you to install the MySQL database engine. The method described below lets you run WordPress on Windows with neither Apache/IIS nor MySQL.

We use nginx, which is a lightweight, high performance web server, SQLite, which is an embedded relational database management system and PHP. The total memory consumption of this setup will typically be less than 10MB.

Also, in this method, you do not have to “install” any software; you can just unzip and run all of these. So this method should work even if you do not have administrative privileges on your computer.

Please note that WordPress is designed to run on MySQL only, so some plugins may not work in this setup. I would not suggest using this in a production environment.

Windows + nginx (Engine X) + SQLite + PHP = WELP!

In the steps below, <instdir> stands for the folder where you plan to install these components, which in my case is C:\. For example, <instdir>\nginx\html\wordpress\wp-content\pdo in my case is C:\nginx\html\wordpress\wp-content\pdo

Step 1: PHP

1. Download the latest PHP Zip package from http://windows.php.net/download/. I used the VC6 x86 Thread Safe PHP Zip file.
2. Unzip the files to <instdir>\PHP
3. Rename the file <instdir>\PHP\php.ini-development to php.ini
4. Open the file php.ini and:
   1. Uncomment the line extension_dir = “ext” (line 809) by removing the “;” at the beginning of the line
   2. Similarly, uncomment the following lines too:
      1. extension=php_curl.dll (line 948)
      2. extension=php_gd2.dll (line 952)
      3. extension=php_pdo_sqlite (line 973)

Instead of steps 3 and 4, you can download and use my php.ini

Step 2: nginx

nginx is a free lightweight, high performance web server. Many well-known sites including Hulu, SourceForge, TorrentReactor and WordPress.com run on nginx.

1. Download the latest stable version of nginx for Windows from http://nginx.org/en/download.html. I used the version nginx/Windows-0.7.65.
2. Unzip the files to <instdir>\nginx
3. Edit the file <instdir>\nginx\conf\nginx.conf
4. Uncomment the lines that pass the PHP scripts to FastCGI server (lines 65-71) by removing the “#” at the beginning of the lines

   location ~ \.php$ {
     root           html;
     fastcgi_pass   127.0.0.1:9000;
     fastcgi_index  index.php;
     fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME   /scripts$fastcgi_script_name;
     include        fastcgi_params;
   }

5. Change the value of fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME to $document_root$fastcgi_script_name; (line 69)
6. Add the following section after the section you uncommented above

   location /wordpress {
     index    index.php index.html index.htm;
     if (!-e $request_filename) {
       rewrite ^(.+)$ /wordpress/index.php?q=$1 last;
     }
   }

7. Optional - If the port on which PHP FastCGI server listens is not 9000, change the value of fastcgi_pass to an alternate value (line 67)
8. Optional - If some other server (Apache, IIS etc.) is using port 80, change the value of listen to an alternate value like 8080, 8090, 8008, 81, 591 or a random unused port (line 36)

Instead of steps 4, 5 and 6, you can use my nginx.conf

Step 3:  WordPress

1. Download the latest stable release of WordPress from http://wordpress.org/download/
2. Unzip the files to <instdir>\nginx\html\wordpress
3. Rename the file <instdir>\nginx\html\wordpress\wp-config-sample.php file to wp-config.php
4. Optional - Update the Authentication Unique Keys in wp-config.php
   1. Generate the keys from https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/
   2. Replace lines 45-48 with the new keys

Step 4: PDO (SQLite) For WordPress

SQLite is an open-source, embedded database management system contained in a small library. The PDO (SQLite) For WordPress plugin lets WordPress use SQLite insted of MySQL as its database.

1. Download the latest version of PDO (SQLite) For WordPress from http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/pdo-for-wordpress/
2. Unzip to <instdir>\nginx\html\wordpress\wp-content such that the path to the folder pdo is <instdir>\nginx\html\wordpress\wp-content\pdo
3. Add the following lines to <instdir>\nginx\html\wordpress\wp-config.php after the line define(‘DB_COLLATE’, ”); (after line 34)

   /** The Database Type used by PDO (SQLite) For WordPress */
   define('DB_TYPE', 'sqlite');

Here is my wp-config.php that you can download.

After you copy all the files, the directory structure will look like this:

Run WELP

1. Open a Command Prompt Window (Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt) and run the PHP FastCGI server by changing to the directory <instdir>\PHP and executing the command php-cgi.exe -b 127.0.0.1:9000. Here is an example:

   C:\>cd php
   C:\php>php-cgi.exe -b 127.0.0.1:9000

   Optional - You can change the port on which PHP FastCGI listens (9000 in the example above), but you should update the nginx configuration accordingly (step 2.7)

2. Open another Command Prompt Window and run nginx by changing to the directory <instdir>\nginx and executing nginx.exe. Here is an example:

   C:\>cd nginx
   C:\nginx>nginx.exe

   If you are using Windows Vista or above, on the first run, you may see a window asking if you want to allow nginx through the Windows Firewall; choose “Unblock“.
   

3. Navigate to http://localhost/wordpress from your browser to set up and use WordPress. Once automatic installation completes, it will give you your admin password.
   • During WordPress automatic setup, you may see PHP code displayed on the browser, you can ignore it.
   • If you get an error that execution timed out in PDOEngine.php, open the file <instdir>\nginx\html\wordpress\wp-content\pdo\PDOEngine.php and change the line set_time_limit(30); to set_time_limit(0); (line 63). Do not forget to change this back after you complete the initial installation on WordPress
   • If WordPress does not give you an admin password, you can follow these steps to reset the password.

Stop WELP

1. In the Command Prompt Window where you executed php-cgi.exe, press Ctrl+C to stop it.
   
2. To stop nginx, open another Command Prompt Window, change to the directory <instdir>\nginx and run nginx.exe -s stop.

Update – 05/11/2010: To start and stop WELP, you can use the tool WELPressed, instead of the steps described above.

This article is inspired by Hendry Lee’s article on installing WordPress on WEMP (Windows, nginx, MySQL and PHP).

Yesterday, I released the next version of my little game, on SourceForge as free software under GPL. This version includes multi-platform compatibility updates and some minor fixes.

This is a verbal version of the classic number guessing game Cows and Bulls. Instead of guessing four-digit numbers, you guess valid four-letter words. You have to guess the word (all words are 4 letters) in 10 tries. You would be given the number of “cows” and “bulls” on each word you enter.  A “bull” is a matching letter in the correct position and a “cow” is a matching letter which is not in the correct position.

I wrote this game in 2007 for my wife (then girlfriend) but had never released it.

You can download the latest version from SourceForge – https://sourceforge.net/projects/cowsnbulls/

Here are some screen shots:

on Windows 7

on Linux (Ubuntu 9.10)

You have a computer running Windows. You’ve always wanted to try out another operating system (another version of Windows, Linux or something else) on your computer, but were afraid you will mess up your installation of Windows. You’ve also heard that it is difficult to remove the second operating system completely when you want to.

These steps will help you install a second operating system, let you choose which operating system you wish to use each time you start up, and let you remove the second operating system completely if you finally decide not to keep it.

Step 1: Create space for the new OS

If you have un-partitioned free space lying around on your computer, you can skip to Step 2. But if you don’t, like most of us, you have to create space by shrinking one of your current partitions. To shrink a partition in Windows XP, you may have to use some third-party tools. Here is a nice guide. To do it in Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can use the Windows Disk Management tool (Click Start, click Run, type compmgmt.msc, and then click OK. In the console tree, click Disk Management). This site explains it well.

Step 2: Create a new “primary” partition

Use the Disk management Tool to create a new primary partition. Make sure you create a primary partition; extended and logical partitions do not work for us. These links describe how to do it in Windows XP and Windows Vista or Windows 7

Step 3: Make your new partition “active”

Marking a partition “active” tells the computer to load the OS in that partition when it starts up. So let’s “activate” the new partition we created. In the Windows Disk Management tool, right-click the new partition and select “Mark Partition as Active”.

Step 4: Install your second operating system

You can now install your second OS to the new partition you created. Most operating systems will detect your current installation of Windows, and install menus (a boot loader) that will let you choose which operating system  to start each time.

This is important – Make sure you install your boot loader on the partition where your install your new OS , and not on your MBR. Windows and most OSX86 distributions do this automatically, but if you are installing any flavor of Linux, you should specify this explicitly. My previous post “Install Linux without modifying MBR” describes this process.

Step 5 (Optional): Hide new OS from your old OS

You need to follow this step only if both your OS are Windows (same or different versions) and you want to hide your new OS from your old OS. Use this if you are installing on your work PC and don’t want “work” to find out about your new OS

1. Log on to your previous operating system
2. Click Start, click Run, type diskpart, and then click OK
3. If you see a “User Access Control” prompt, click Yes
4. Type following commands at the DISKPART command prompt
   1. list disk
   2. select disk disk# (where disk# is the disk that has the partition you want to hide)
   3. list part
   4. select part partition# (where partition# is the partition that you want to hide)
   5. remove

Here is an example:

Microsoft DiskPart version 6.1.7100
Copyright (C) 1999-2008 Microsoft Corporation.
On computer: DEEPBLAKK
DISKPART> list disk
Disk ###  Status    Size     Free   Dyn  Gpt
--------  --------  -------  -----  ---  ---
Disk 0    Online     111 GB    0 B
DISKPART> select disk 0
Disk 0 is now the selected disk.
DISKPART> list part
Partition ###  Type         Size     Offset
-------------  -----------  -------  -------
Partition 1    Primary        35 GB  1024 KB
Partition 2    Primary        56 GB    35 GB
Partition 3    Primary        19 GB    91 GB
Partition 4    Primary       949 MB   110 GB
DISKPART> select part 2
Partition 2 is now the selected partition.
DISKPART> remove
DiskPart successfully removed the drive letter or mount point.
DISKPART>

Remove the second operating system

Finally, if you decide not to keep your new OS, follow these simple steps to remove it completely:

1. Log on to your first OS
2. Make the partition of the first OS active (as in step 3)
3. Optionally, you can
   1. format the partition of your second OS (right-click the partition and select “Format” )
   2. or you can delete that partition (right-click the partition and select “Delete Volume”) and reclaim the space (right-click an adjacent partition and select “Extend Volume”).

During installation, most Linux distributions overwrite your MBR with a piece of their boot loader (GRUB, LILO etc.). In most cases this works perfect, but sometimes this can break your multi-boot configuration or your previous OS. The simple solution is to install the entire boot loader on the partition where you install Linux (your boot partition). Note that this method works only when you are installing Linux on a primary partition.  You will also have to make your boot partition active or use another boot loader to boot into Linux

Installing the boot loader on your boot partition is quite simple in most Linux distributions. Here are the steps to do this in Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala).

Step 1: Follow the steps to install Ubuntu as you normally would, until your reach the “Ready to install” screen as in this picture.

Step 2: On the “Ready to install” screen, click “Advanced…” on the lower right.

Step 3: Choose your boot partition from the “Device for boot loader installation” dropdown list instead of “hd0” which is the default. This site tells you how to find the name of your partitions – Partition naming scheme.

Click OK and install away.

My old camera, a Canon PowerShot S2 IS, died on me last month and I was looking for a new one to replace it. Inspired by some DSLR-wielding friends and many a beautiful photo on Flickr, I decided to go DSLR. They are now cheaper than ever, do more stuff than ever and everybody has one these days . So, I thought now was the right time to take the plunge.

I knew I wanted a Nikon or Canon (dunno why, just knew ), but which one? I did some research on the interwebs and built this table with the features that may be important for a beginner. Sharing this here for the benefit of others like me.

Prices as of 12/10/2009. All prices include 18-55mm kit lens. I do not endorse any online store listed here

Finally, I bought the EOS Rebel T1i from Amazon. As an amateur, the features that influenced me most were its better automatic-shooting and video capabilities. As I was upgrading from an old Canon, I got $50 off through the EOS & PowerShot Loyalty Program, and I sold my old camera for parts on eBay

Related Reading

• Gizmodo – The Four DSLR Cameras for Every Budget
• Gizmodo – Canon Rebel T1i vs. Nikon D5000: Entry-Level DSLR Battlemodo
• Engadget – Canon EOS Rebel T1i impressions, head-to-head with Nikon D5000

…and maybe the only one for a long long time.