Category Archives: General

Default Virtual Host in Apache

If you have multiple domains installed in a virtual host configuration with one IP address in Apache, the IP address may not resolve to the domain you prefer. Let me explain.

For example, you have the following domains running on an Ubuntu Server with one IP address.

abc.com
cde.com
klm.com
xyz.com

All the domains are resolving as expected on the browser.

However, if you type the IP address on the browser, it only defaults to the first domain found in the /etc/apache2/sites-available directory, which is most likely abc.com.

If you want the IP address to default to another domain, such as klm.com for example, you will need to edit the /etc/apache2/httpd.conf file and add the following entries.

<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName www.klm.com
ServerAlias klm.com
DocumentRoot /var/www/klm.com/www
</VirtualHost>

Those are the only entries you’ll need. Typing the IP address on the browser will now default to the contents of klm.com. All the other domains are still accessible via domain names on the browser.

Twenty Twelve Title Contain No Spaces

There is a conflict between the Twenty Twelve WordPress and the All in One SEO Pack plugin. When the plugin is installed and you happen to be using the Twenty Twelve theme, the result is, there will be no space between your site title and blog title. You’ll notice this if you look at the title bar of your browser. After a couple of searches, I found a fix online. It involves editing the Twenty Twelve functions.php file and commenting out line 185 which contains the code below.

You will need to change:

add_filter( 'wp_title', 'twentytwelve_wp_title', 10, 2 );

and comment out:

// add_filter( 'wp_title', 'twentytwelve_wp_title', 10, 2 );

Also, you need to clear your browser cache to see results.

Google Reader Shutting Down

In a move that surprised no one, Google announced today that they are taking down Google Reader on July 1, 2013. Google Reader is a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader used for subscribing to news, magazines, blogs and websites. Since Google Reader is shutting down in a couple of months, here are some alternatives to Google Reader that you might want to try.

Owncloud 4.5

OwnCloud is an open-source file sharing and file storage cloud platform that’s similar to Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and other cloud sharing services. The difference is, OwnCloud allows you to install your own cloud storage on your own server. You manage the server software yourself making your data your own. OwnCloud has vastly improved the past year. OwnCloud has added a desktop client for Windows, MacOS and Linux, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Much has changed since the last time I played around with OwnCloud. Instead of performing an upgrade of my previous installation, I’ve decided to just reinstall everything from scratch. OwnCloud now gives your three options to install the server software. You can install it from a tar archive, a Linux package, or you can use the Web Installer. I chose the latter. It turned out to be the simplest option.

You simply download the small installation file called “setup-owncloud.php.” You then upload the it to your web server and run the install script. You will be asked to supply a username and password. The installation file will then download the rest of the program and complete the installation for you. It takes less than a minute to complete the install.

Just a couple of things worth sharing. I opted for SQLite install. So, there is no MySQL database needed. There’s only one thing I want to modify. I want increase the default allocated space to something bigger. Other than that, it’s a functional file sharing service. It’s not as polished as Dropbox and Google Drive, but it’s not too shabby either. At least, you can sleep well knowing your data is your own.

350 Square Foot Apartment

I once lived on 440 square foot studio. It was small. I can’t imagine living in a 350 square foot apartment, but this is pretty cool. It has 8 functional rooms. The pull down bed, movable divider and guest room are its best features. The solar charger is a great idea. This bit was featured in Gizmodo a couple months back, but it’s still worth a watch.

$2.45 Settlement

You know what makes my day? Receiving a $2.45 settlement check from the mail. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with my new found wealth. I have to really think about this one for a little while. Maybe contact my money manager. The funny thing is, I have no idea what the settlement is all about. It’s probably a credit card company overcharging its customers.

Are class actions suits even worth the trouble since all I got was a measly $2.45. It’s a boon for lawyers though. They probably raked in $2.45 million in fees, while single individuals like me get a measly $2.45. It’s not even equal to the lost fees I overpaid the credit card company. The credit card company could have just avoided litigation and sent everyone a $40 check. Cut out those lawyers acting as middlemen.

Well, I don’t want to sound ungrateful. So, here it is. Thanks for the tall Starbucks coffee.

Choosing a Desktop Environment on Linux Mint

Linux Mint has four desktop environments that you can choose from. There is KDE, Xfce, Cinnamon and Mate. The two most common choices by users are Cinnamon and Mate. Technically, you can download any of the desktop environments and change them later. If you decide to go with Mate and later on want to install Cinnamon, the change is going to be easy.

You just need 400MB of extra disk space, which is practically nothing judging on the size of hard drives nowadays. The only other decision to make is to whether include multimedia effects or leave them out. My preference is to include them.

Let’s say you’ve decided to go with Mate and want to install Cinnamon later on. Changing from Mate to Cinnamon is quite easy. All you have to do is install Cinnamon via the Terminal which is my preference. You can easily do the same using a GUI package manager.

From Mate to Cinnamon

$ sudo apt-get install mint-meta-cinnamon

From Cinnamon to Mate

$ sudo apt-get install mint-meta-mate

Once you’ve made the change. You need to log out of the current desktop environment and log in again and making sure you select the environment you would like to use. You can switch back and forth desktop environments to your hearts delight. As you can see, changing desktop environments in Linux Mint is quite easy.

Setting Up An Internet Radio

Setting up an internet radio is quite easy nowadays. From the Linux perspective, there are two obvious choices. Either go with Icecast or Shoutcast. I went with Icecast because it was the easy option. Shoutcast is probably more popular since it has a better directory listing if you want your internet radio advertised to potential listeners. But I’m not really interesting in listing my internet radio. I just want a proof of concept that it works.

Installing Icecast on the Ubuntu server is quite easy as running “sudo apt-get install icecast2″ from the Terminal. You’ll be asked three different times to supply passwords for admin, relay and source accounts. Once you have Icecast server installed on the Ubuntu. It’s time to open up the port number from the firewall. The default port is 8000. You can change the port number later by editing the Icecast config file. It should be the /etc/icecast2/icecast.xml file.

As far as the broadcast software, I’m using a simple software called Butt, which means “broadcast using this tool.” It’s a funny name if you ask me, but it’s very simple and it works flawlessly. It’s also free. There are other options, but I just want something simple, and Butt serves that purpose. Now, Butt is capable of capturing the sound input of your computer’s microphone and sending it to Icecast. As long as you can play it on your computer, you should be able to broadcast it on your internet radio.

I’m sending out the output of my desktop speaker to an audio mixer, and then sending out the output of the mixer back to to the computer’s microphone line in. This gives me the ability to play anything on the computer and broadcast it. In addition, I can add a microphone to the audio mixer and have the ability to speak to an audience using any dynamic or condenser microphone that you may already have.

That is pretty much the setup in a nutshell without going into the nitty gritty details.

What Happens To GoDaddy Expired Domains

If you have a registered domain that is expiring at GoDaddy, to their credit, they do send out several notices to let you know that your domain is expiring. But the day after your domain expires, your domain is no longer working and it gets parked at GoDaddy. Although you make a payment on the same day. It can take anywhere from 2-24 or even 48 hours for the domain to propagate the DNS entry.

So, in the meantime, your website is screwed. Your customers will see a parked page at GoDaddy. If your website is a critical business website, you can potentially lose money. The delay is more of a DNS issue instead of GoDaddy. Even at this age in time, you would think DNS propagation delay can be resolved in minutes instead of days. Unfortunately, we are still stuck in the horse-and-buggy age when it comes DNS management.

But GoDaddy has to do better in protecting business when it comes to downing websites. Although it’s entirely my fault to not properly pay on time, GoDaddy doesn’t give you much grace time when it comes to missing a payment. Although it their right to do this, I don’t think they are winning any customers. I have other domains registered at other registrars. I missed payments by a couple days, but they give you ample of time of at least a week before redirecting your DNS entry. So, your website is never down.

So with that, GoDaddy policies are not winning me over. I will transfer any remaining domains I own out of GoDaddy as soon as I can.