Recently I setup Apache, MySQL and PHP with Apache per-user web directories after I completed a fresh installation of Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick meerkat. Once I completed the installation and tried running PHP scripts in my new public_html directory. The scripts however would not execute. This was really frustrating and took my a while to resolve this issues. So I have written this blog post to explain how to solve this problem and stop future frustrations. Continue »
On the 7th October I read an article by the The Telegraph which reported some extremely worrying finding based upon a study of 2,000 schoolchildren in the United Kingdom. The study identified that many children believed that Buzz Lightyear was first man to walk on Moon. Last time I checked it as Neil Armstrong who first stepped off the LEM Eagle on the 20th July 1969 in the Sea of Tranquility. Continue »
On the 1st October the BBC reported that China had launched a Long March 3C rocket with a probe called Chang'e-2 from Xichang at about 1100 GMT. The probe Chang'e-2 is destined for the Moon where it will orbit our only natural satellite collecting data necessary for a planned Chinese Luna rover mission. Chang'e-2 is China's second lunar probe. The first probe was launched in 2007. Continue »
On the 19th October a Deutsche Bahn (DB) Inter City Express (ICE) 3 high-speed train will arrive at St Pancras International in London on it's maiden cross-channel journey. I think that this is interesting and exciting news. I feel that the expansion of rail destination available to travellers departing London St Pancras is a sensible development which should have happened long before now. I am however wary that high-speed rail in the United Kingdom and further a field is seen as a silver bullet by the press and public as the sole solution to reduce carbon dioxide. That is simply not the case and it's a massive deception by the press. Continue »
In its day the Colosseum was capable of seating 50,000 spectators to watch public spectacles, gladiatorial contests, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. To put that into contrast a modern amphitheatre, Stamford Bridge home of Chelsea F.C. a Premier League football club only seats 41,841 people. For 1st Century Romans the Colosseum was an intricate component of there lives, like football or X Factor is for many Britons in the 21st Century. Continue »
So on Wednesday Apple announce the new Apple TV. I think it is an interesting product with a compelling price point. However I am not sure if it will capture the imagination of consumers. Steve Jobs rebutted the consensus of geeks that Apple TV should be a living room computers. Instead Apple has worked to satisfy consumers removing issues concerning syncing and storage management. Continue »
So the Internet has been getting over excited by the idea of an Apple OS 10.7 iMac or MacBook with an iOS touch interface. So what? A touch interface on a desktop computer is nothing new. HP have their TouchSmart PCs running Windows 7. What everyone is getting over excited about is a new patent from Apple using their touch technology on an iMac or MacBook. Continue »
About seven days ago I reactivated Google Buzz. This morning I again turned off the service after reading Leo Laporte's latest blog post, Buzz Kill. I feel now how I felt about the service when it was released a year ago, why do I need another social network and doesn't this replicate my Twitter account. Personally I believe I did not see or take full advantage of the service because I am no longer using a smartphone and in particular an Android smartphone. Continue »
Recently I wrote a blog post title, Life without an iPhone. I am wondering what I should do next. The phone I am using at the moment is hardly best or second best in class. I am using a Motorola F3. It is not the best phone I have ever had. Truthfully it is a spare phone to run my now dead Spanish mobile phone number. But I am not sure which way to go now I do not have an iPhone. Do I buy a Nokia and be done with it or should I get an Android smartphone? Continue »
Hey Ayatollah, Leave Those Kids Alone! is a fantastic cover of Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall. If you have a spare few minutes I suggested you watch this video. Continue »