I'll be facing off against some interesting characters later today in the Hilton Hotel.
Proposing Team
– Adrian Weckler, (Journalist - Sunday Business Post )
– Alex French, (Director - Bitbuzz )
– Brody Sweeney, (Chairman - O'Briens Sandwich Bars )
– Eoin Costello, (MD - Novara Technology )
Opposing Team
– Conor Lynch, (Online Marketing Manager - RaboDirect )
– John Kennedy, (Journalist - Silicon Republic )
– Michele Neylon, ( MD - Blacknight Solutions )
– Peter Lawless, (Founder - 3r Sales and Marketing )
March 2006 Archives
While I was preparing for the talk I gave recently on blogging I decided to spend some time looking into blogging solutions under windows with asp / asp.net.
I was left feeling completely underwhelmed by what little I found.
Hasn't anyone produced a semi-decent windows based blogging engine?
Maybe I'm not looking in the right places, but I'd love to be pointed in the right way.
From 20 June 2006 AFNIC is liberalising .fr domain registrations.
Similar to a growing number of ccTLD registries, the French registry will be opening its doors to everyone with an address in France.
They've set up a special site to publicise the changes, which is aptly named faites-vous-un-nom.fr
As I mentioned a few days ago, I am currently toying with the idea of podcasting.
I got some excellent feedback from people about the physical equipment that I should be using and have since been exploring the software options under linux, as I will be doing it from my home desktop which primarily runs Ubuntu linux and not windows.
In terms of hardware I should have Shure SM58 microphone within a few days. I'll be able to hook that into my soundcard via the XLR to jack cable that I already bought off eBay.
In the meantime I may resort to using Skype. I came across a script which supposedly lets you record your skype conversations without having to use two pcs, however I haven't been able to test this yet (Anyone wanting to help me test this theory please email me!)
The choice software for mixing the audio on linux seems to be restricted to Audacity. It's supposed to be functional, although the GUI is really ugly.
In terms of listening to podcasts iPodder seems to be the most reliable software client that I've come across.
The other issue that I needed to find a solution for was the actual publishing of the podcasts themselves.
While I know that feedburner supports podcasts I wanted to explore other options as well.
Should I publish podcasts here or on a separate podcast blog?
I'm erring towards a separate blog simply to manage the feeds etc., but I'm still not sure.
One interesting article I came across gives some insight into using torrents as well as, or as a replacement for, standard mp3s. I'm not sure how easy implementing that would be, but it could be worth exploring in greater depth.
Well not exactly ....
Rob posted about a silly misunderstanding that arose in the US when a web server running Centos was not configured correctly.
Although the default Apache homepage for most distros, including Centos, explains exactly what it is and why it is being displayed, one "tech savvy" city manager seems to have had "issues" with it and accused the Centos developers of hacking the site!
More coverage here and here
Since I installed dapper on this desktop (and this server) the other week I've been slowly uncovering some of the new features.
Thunderbird is now in version 1.5 which comes with a number of new features including native OPML support.
Over the last couple of weeks Paypal have made a number of changes to their emails.
In what has to be the dumbest move by a company of their calibre they have started embedding Javascript in their emails!!
The Javascript is obviously part of their web analytics being provided by DoubleClick, but why they think that any sane person will even be able to view their emails is another thing.
I'd love to hear their rationale... or maybe I wouldn't ...
I haven't posted much over the last few days for a number of reasons (in no particular order):
- I've been sick
- I've been incredibly busy (being sick didn't help)
- I was migrating this site to a new server
- PHP5 and Wordpress don't play nice together
I picked up Doug Isenberg's excellent guide to internet law, The Gigalaw Guide to Internet Law, the other week.
While it is written from an American perspective it goes a long way to explain many of the basic concepts that are as relevant in Ireland as they are in any other country.
The main topics covered are:
- Copyright Law
- Domain Names and Trademarks
- Patent Law
- Privacy
- Free Speech
- Contract Law
- Employment Law
Websites that do not display or function correctly in browsers other than Internet Explorer are very irritating.
Yesterday afternoon I tried to book a driving test online. While the site displayed perfectly in Firefox the order form did not work correctly, so I was forced to use Internet Explorer to complete the booking.
It's 2006! Surely high profile websites are tested against "other" browsers these days?
I've started a thread on this just to see what other sites people come across. If you know of any please feel free to add them.
I'm currently toying with the idea of doing some podcasting.
My problem at the moment is that I really don't have a clue where to start in terms of equipment.
So what should I be using?
I know I could throw a lot of money down the drain very easily if I'm not careful, so if anyone has any recommendations to share I'd love to hear them.
I may have not done it intentionally, but I seem to have become the least photographed person at the blog awards last Saturday!
If you are lucky (or unlucky) you may spot the back of my head in a few photos
I originally mentioned setting up mp3 support for Rhythmbox on breezy. I've since upgraded to dapper and have had to go through the process again.
This time round the solution was to install the oddly named package
gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly
Depending on which repositories you have enabled you may find more than one version of it and as dapper is still in active development you may need to look for slightly different versions:
sudo apt-cache search gstreamer|grep ugly
Nominet has just launched an online portal for registrars (tag holders) and other clients.
It's quite similar to the IEDR reseller console in some respects, though it allows you to edit a wide variety of details associated with your account.
For example, you can now easily edit where the various notification emails are sent to without having to ring them.
This is handy, though I always find ringing Nominet to be a pleasure as their staff are so helpful.
The only negative thing I have to report is that the site is really really slow. Hopefully this will improve over time
MadTux have released a bootable USB Pen Drive:
"1.0GB USB Pen Drive with the entire contents of the Ubuntu 5.10 Live Release and added special code to make it bootable. Just plug it into the USB port of your computer (BIOS capable of booting USB flash is required*) and boot into Ubuntu Linux"
Further information on their site
EDIT: Link updated to point to the category on their site with various linux distros including Ubuntu on bootable USB
A few short weeks ago I became aware of a new title to be published dedicated to blog design. I've always been a bit of a bookaholic, so I picked up a copy on Amazon.
Blog Design Solutions has no fewer than eight co-authors who include names that may be familiar to bloggers.
So what does the book cover?
Who is it aimed at?
Should you buy a copy?
The book covers everything from the basics of blogging through setting up a local development environment right through to writing your own blogging engine.
Overwhelmed? While you may feel that a volume covering such a broad range of topics would be a huge tome that yells boredom from its covers you will be pleasantly surprised.
The authors do not presume that you know anything (apart from having an interest in the subject matter naturally)
They lead you gently into the realm of the blogger and then dedicate a chapter each to four of the more popular blogging solutions currently available:
Blog Design Solutions
- Wordpress
- Movable Type
- Text Pattern
- Expression Engine
Blog Design Solutions
ApacheCon Europe (Dublin) is now accepting "early bird" registration.
Unfortunately it's not clear either how long the "early bird" registration pricing is valid nor what exactly you are registering for, as the sessions' timetable is not available yet.
Tom has just picked up his award as best technology blogger - well done!
The nominees and other guests are packed into the downstairs of the Alexander hotel.
Who will walk away with the coveted bloscars?
Over the last few months I've seen bloggers joining IrishBlogs, but I hadn't actually checked to see how many there were.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that there are now over 220 bloggers represented with over 230 blogs.
So what should the site offer to users?
Are you all happy with what it's doing at present or do you want to see something different?
Ross links to Amnesty International's teleshop spoof against the international arms' trade.
It's both amusing and disturbing to watch.......
I switched from Movable Type to Wordpress almost two years ago.
I could lie and say that I never looked back, but it would, of course, be a lie.
Much as I love Wordpress it is not without its faults. While I originally enjoyed the way it published articles "on the fly" I've now come to find that feature to be a little bit annoying.
Why?
Well every time someone visits an entry, browses a category or interacts with this blog a number of SQL queries are generated. Although the database is not that big the number of queries per hour and per day is quite high:
17,769.75 queries per hour (not just for this site admittedly)
The knockon effect is that the server can become slow and unresponsive at times, as the MySQL daemon (the database engine) is being hammered.
With Movable Type, however, the pages / entries / categories etc., are static files, so there is no need to generate database queries each time an entry or page is viewed.
When I setup the Blacknight blog I opted for Movable Type over Wordpress for that reason, among others.
I've also been experimenting with the plugins and extensions that are available for MT and so far I have not been disappointed. In some cases I've been pleasantly surprised with the ease of installation and management.
For example setting up Feedburner was simply a matter of a couple of clicks. I didn't even have to login to my feedburner account to do it, as the MT plugin did that for me!
I'm in two minds as to what I should do moving forward and I'm also aware that it is only "early days", but I must say I am impressed with the management console / inteface that MT provide.
However, the installation procedure is still horrendous compared to Wordpress.
So who will be at the blog awards tomorrow evening?
It would be great to put faces to some of the names that I've been reading over the last couple of years.
I just realised this evening that I'm currently maintaining four blogs concurrently:
This one
Blacknight Blog
Blog Cookbook
SEO Cookbook
plus Irish Blogs and a couple of aggregators
The blogs involve a certain degree of creative thinking, which is something I definitely enjoy, while the other projects are just plan fun :)
It was great to see so many people at the IIA blogging seminar in the Hilton yesterday.
I finally got to meet a number of people who, up until then, had been merely names without faces.
Bernie blogged live from the event, while Brian mentions it this evening.
I wasn't too sure what kind of questions people would like to raise, but I was delighted with the level of genuine interest people had in blogging overall.
Questions asked ranged from "why is a blog different to a website" through to the finer points of comment moderation and control in a business environment.
The audience ranged from power users, such as Bernie and Brian through to the curious and those just "dipping their toes" into the medium.
While I had originally planned to cover a very broad range of topics the lively debate and discussion took us to new and more interesting areas than I could possibly have imagined.
I'd love to do it all over again :)
Following on from comments and conversations with bloggers, customers and other people we've decided to put an official Blacknight blog online. I would have announced it sooner, but I was in the Hilton :)
So the Blacknight blog is here, while my blog will obviously not be going anywhere
What will this mean?
Basically I will keep blogging about the things that I'm interested in like I've always done, however the official company blog will carry content that I might not think is suitable for publication here. Similarily the company blog will not feature the "random" posts that my more personal blog may carry.
dgskfgd
The blogging seminar will be starting in just over an hour and people are already starting to arrive.
The venue itself is very plush, though the cost of internet access for the day brings exorbitant to new levels
The venue itself is very plush, though the cost of internet access for the day brings exorbitant to new levels
Alan, from Spoiltchild, has setup a spreadshirt shop to sell t-shirts for the Irish blog awards.
There a number of designs available and they look really good.
I'm off to Dublin in the morning to give the seminar on blogging on behalf of the IIA
I'll be sending myself multiple copies of the presentation, which I finally ended up doing in Open Office as opposed to Powerpoint, as I live in constant fear of hard disk issues, pen drive loss etc. A few extra backups can't hurt :)
In any case I'm delighted to see that the event has completely sold out and I'm looking forward to spending an afternoon with some very interesting people.
See you there!
MSN supposedly did a softlaunch of their contextual ads program today, however you cannot access the signup page unless you are running IE 6! I tried from my windows desktop using IE7 beta and was greeted with:
"MSN adCenter does not currently support the web browser you are using. Please sign in using Internet Explorer 6"
So, while the MS developers and evangelists want us all to try IE7 MSN is blocking us?
Ah well ...........
I got home this evening to find a mystery parcel from Amazon.
Some nice person has sent me a cd (Cold Play - Parachutes and a DVD (All About My Mother.
Thanks! I just wish you'd sent a less cryptic note!
EDIT: The sender has identified himself! I'm really touched :)
If you are wondering who voted in favour of the Verisign deal then pop over to Bret Fausett's blog
Interesting to see that Vint Cerf voted in favour of it.....
What are the criteria for choosing a blogging platform?
Over the last few weeks and months I've spoken to quite a few bloggers about blogging (strangely enough!) and in the process I've also become aware of the issues that many less technical bloggers face.
When you decide to start a blog which platform is the most suitable for you?
While I may evaluate the various solutions from a functionality and feature perspective many others are faced with usability issues.
Posting an entry on any of the many software and hosted solutions out there is not overly complex, but when it comes to customisation, extensions and personalisation, many people seem to founder.
As part of the preparations for the blogging seminar next week I've decided to spend a certain degree of my time over the weekend examining and testing the variety of solutions currently available. In many cases I may have already tried the software in the past, but more recent versions may have brought new features and options, so I need to look at them again.
Anyone who visits this blog more than once is probably aware of who I am and some people would consider this blog to be the "official" Blacknight blog.
I've always disagreed with that, though I fully understand why people get that feeling.
While speaking to a client, and fellow blogger, the other week it was brought home to me that while this blog maybe visible to those "in the know" it obviously isn't as visible as a blog attached to the main Blacknight website.
My counter-argument to that was the one I have always used ie. that this blog is more a reflection of my personal eclectic interests and opinions than a soapbox for the company. While he did agree with me he also pointed out that there could be some advantages in running a separate company blog.
I'm still undecided
What do others think?
Since Google adwords introduced site targetting I've been very conscious as both a publisher and advertiser of the possibilities of what this meant. However it wasn't very easy to see whether ads were being sent purely based on keywords or the actual url itself.
The adsense blog provides a handy tip for adsense publishers to work out what percentage of the ads is site targetted and what is contextual.
Unfortunately they still aren't telling you which advertisers are using which method.........
I took delivery of an iPod Nano this week. Of course it is black. The box is tiny!
My digital camera, which is very thin and pocket-sized, came in a box about four times the size....
Some lucky blogger will be taking this baby home with them very soon :)
The case of ie7.com is causing some mirth in technical / geek circles at present.
While it is amusing I wonder will they be able to hold onto that domain for much longer.
The latest batch of eBay phishing attacks are quite interesting.
Instead of pretending to be from eBay they pretend to be from "Hilda"
In a very nice bit of social engineering Hilda informs you that she's 87 years old and is trying to buy a wheelchair:
"Hello,
I recently placed a bid on item#5669378843 being a wheelchair for me that i really need do to my age(87 years old) and it seems that i can not find the auction anymore...May i please know if you are the seller of the item above?
Regards,
Hilda"
Of course the "Respond Now" button will take you to a server in China, which has nothing to do with eBay where you will, of course, be prompted for your eBay login details
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