This post was originally published on 13 July, 2006.  This version has been updated.

I have a problem with facebook, myspace, and other social networking websites out there.  The problem is when I upload my data to their webservers….I don’t own it anymore.  They do.  And they can do whatever they want with it once it is there.

With this in mind, I’d rather setup my own twitter using Status.net or my own digg using Pligg.  But I’d do it on MY OWN SERVER.  That way, any content I upload is MINE.  It doesn’t reside on some server in California or DC and get recycled to advertisements.

I like to control my own stuff.  I don’t like to be cut out of the loop.  If you’re like me, then you’ll want to host your own domain, website and webserver so that your friends/family/shrink can quickly and easily connect up to see new photos, find out the latest family developments, and understand why you wear tinfoil hats every Thursday after 4pm.

Normally, to host your own webpage you would need to spend around 7 bucks to purchase a domain.  Next you would need a hosting plan that usually runs around 3-15 dollars per month to serve up your web pages.

What most don’t realize is that you can skip these steps all together…you don’t need to get dedicated hosting (this blog is hosted on dedicated hosting…but started out in my apartment!) to serve pages up to your friends and family.  You absolutely do not need to get domain name services through a provider.  You can even host your own webserver using a dialup connection (that’s right…I said dialup) although. I don’t recommend it (but I’ve done it using 56.6kbps).

Why would you want to do this?  The answer might be to stay connected to friends and family…perhaps install a gallery so that your grandparents can see pics of your new dog/car/tinfoil hat.  Sure, you could waste my time with MyWaste..er..space and facebook and be barraged daily by advertisers and solicitors and be inundated with the minutiae of what all your friends had to eat for the day …or you could roll your own web host, install a gallery or website, and provide media to your friends and family without costing yourself a dime.  That’s right, NO COST (except time spent getting it running).  Just remember, your website might not survive a digging or slashdotting if you run it yourself.  Keep that in mind  So without more chatter, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of things:

Meat and Potatoes

If you have Cable or DSL at home (not a business account) you have something called a dynamic connection.  Dynamic connection means that it can change every once in a while.  DSL and cable ISP’s purchase blocks of IP Addresses in the dynamic range so that they can keep consumers separate from businesses.  It’s also easier for them to manage dynamic pools of people than to have to remember static connections that don’t change for everyone.

Because of this problem…an ever changing connection for you at home…web servers and websites do not do very well.  The reason for this is because when you visit a website on a dynamic connection one day, it might be different the next day.  In order for visitors of a website to find you each and every single time, you need a “domain” or web name that points back to the address (IP Address) your internet service provider changes on a whim.  You’ll also need an update service to update your website each time your ISP decides to change things on you.

Believe it or not, there are free services out there to do that for you.  You just have to be willing to do a little extra work in the beginning to set things up.  You can also do this without spending 20-40 bucks a month on DNS service.

I’ll divide this up into 2 sections.  The first will deal with Linux hosting.  The second, Windows hosting.  This is only something that I’ve found easy to do and the price is just right (it’s free).  The only thing that I recommend is a dedicated internet connection (cable, DSL) but even this is not necessary as dialup can be used.  I recommend that you use the Linux way of doing things since it is more secure and doesn’t require a restart every time you patch it.

*note: I’m assuming that you aren’t behind a firewall/proxy of any kind and that your ISP doesn’t block port 80 traffic.  If your ISP blocks port 80, see the appendix at the end of this article.

LINUX

No matter what version of Linux you run, chances are that you’ll be able to install the apache webserver.  This is good news as over half the websites of the world are run by apache. I’m not going to address the specifics of how to set up your apache…only how to get it a fixed address without buying a domain.  So, you have your html or php pages located into your webservers public directory…good…whatever application you have is installed on your server.  Now, how to resolve your IP…lets say it is…25.24.4.166 (for our example) and you want it to have a host.name.com to bind to.  Easy to resolve.  Go to http://www.no-ip.com/index.php and sign up.  You can get a site from noip that is like yourname.theirdomain.com/.net/.info.  They have cool names like sytes.net and servebeer.org…even workisboring.com.  Other services like dyndns.org also exist and provide the free service as well.

You’ll be able to choose your own top level name…for instance, Ithink.dnsiskinky.com could be your new domain name.  Next download a client from the download tab: https://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php

The linux client is a tar.gz source and is simple to install. Follow the instructions when installing.  You may have to install compilation tools (devel packages like GCC) to install the client.  You now are the proud owner of yoursite.theirsite.com and your IP will ALWAYS update (as long as noip.com is up) each time you log on/sign on/beam up or whatever it is you do.

How does this help you?  Well, if you’re like me, you have a dynamic IP address.  If you connect to the internet via cable, dialup, or dsl…you also have a dynamic IP address.  Dynamic means that it will change from time to time without warning.  So by binding yoursite.theirsite.com to your IP address…you don’t ever have to worry about what IP address you have anymore.  Instead, you’ll always be able to connect using yoursite.theirsite.com.  You can host a webserver using Apache and a virtual host in this style as well (look for another how-to on this subject later) so that everyone can visit a shiny website at yoursite.theirsite.com.

Now you can give your friends/family/dog walker/mailman the address to your new webserver…maybe it’s Ithink.dnsiskinky.com like we used in the example above.  Now when they visit that address in their web browser, your application or web page displays for them.  You also get bragging rights at being the most technical friend/relative/dog walker client/household that everyone knows.  Now let’s cover Windows.

WINDOWS

First you need a free and clear webserver since one is not included by default with windows. You can download Apache for this as well OR try the Abyss Webserver.

Interestingly enough, Abyss is also free!  I ran it while my linux machine was being worked on (bad hard disk…it was a Quantum 200MB drive from 1913…had to upgrade) and it worked just great off of Windows XP.  Download that puppy and install it.  Make sure you read all of the documentation and familiarize yourself with how Abyss does business.

The next step…getting a hostname… is even easier than the linux method because you don’t have to manually install the noip client…they have a windows installer.  Go to http://www.no-ip.com/index.php and sign up.  Choose the domain name you would like (see above examples in Linux section).  Next, download the noip client from the download tab: https://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php but this time choose the windows client.  From there, you’ll be able to install this with a simple double click.  Fill in all of your information (pretty self explanatory) and make sure that it will run with each time you sign on.  You’re set! Your IP will now resolve to the yourchoice.theirhostname.com

CONCLUSION

You don’t have to spend a dime to keep a domain bound to your IP.  This is perfect for the home user who just wants a gallery or homepage.  It’s even good for someone who has a weblog or enthusiast site.  It’s good for someone who wants to be able to find their files and music…setup Jinzora and stream all your music library to yourself anywhere you are!  Setup Amahi and have access to all the goodness it brings.

Please remember, this wouldn’t be good for a business to have.  You will probably violate your ISP’s terms and conditions for using their connection if you tried to run a business this way.  In that case, there are plenty of options for hosting your site on cheap servers.

It’s always good form to put a link of the stuff you are using on your website to direct traffic back to your software provider.  When I used noip, I included a noip link on my main page and also an abyss webserver icon as well.  It’s just good form and some companies/software providers necessitate the use of their logo or a link on sites that use their software/code.  Just be a nice person and give a link back to them.  Good luck! Have fun!

Also, please note that having hosted my own webserver for quite some time (circa 2001) I’ve found Linux and Apache as a combination to be more secure, faster, and more stable than any webserver I’ve hosted on the Windows Platform. I included information on Windows mainly to introduce you to the concept of free and open source software. If you thought getting a webserver for free was great, think about getting a whole operating system! Give it a try, you don’t even have to install it (use a Live CD).

APPENDIX

If your ISP blocks port 80 traffic, your webserver won’t work.  Before deciding that your ISP is blocking however, make sure your firewall has the appropriate rules to allow incoming traffic.  You can do a quick add to IPTABLES in the following manner:

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT

iptables -A INPUT -j DROP

If you’ve opened up the appropriate ports and things still don’t work, it will be safe to say that you’ve determined the ISP is blocking port 80.  How you can get around this conundrum is to switch the listening port on the webserver to a different one and redirect traffic there.

1. See how to do this for IIS Webservers
2. See how to do this for Apache Webservers (normally in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf but your distro may vary.)
3. See how to do this for Abyss Webservers

If you still have problems, drop me a line in the comments section.  I may not be able to answer all questions but I can most likely get you to a person/place/thing that can.  Have fun and thanks for reading!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Host Your Own Domain, Website and Webserver originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on February 13, 2010.

This article is from 2006!  The information here may not be the most current.  You can visit an updated version here!

Doesn’t sound like anything new right?  Well, some people may not know of this method.

Normally, to host your own webpage you would need to spend around 7 bucks to purchase a domain.  Next you would need a hosting plan that usually runs around 3-15 dollars per month to serve up your web pages.

What most don’t realize is that you can skip these steps all together…you don’t need to get dedicated hosting(this blog is hosted on dedicated hosting…but started out in my apartment!) to serve pages up to your friends and family.  You absolutely do not need to get domain name services through a provider.  You can even host your own webserver using a dialup connection (that’s right…I said dialup) although. I don’t recommend it (but I’ve done it using 56.6kbps).

Why would you want to do this?  My reply…to stay connected to friends and family…perhaps throw up a gallery so that your grandparents can see pics of your new dog/car/tinfoil hat.  Sure, you could waste my time with MyWaste..er..space and be barraged daily by advertisers and solicitors…or you could roll your own web host, install a gallery or website, and provide media to your friends and family without costing yourself a dime.  That’s right, NO COST (except time spent getting it running).  Just remember, your website might not survive a digging or slashdotting if you run it yourself.  Keep that in mind  So without more chatter, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of things:

Do you cringe at the thought of buying a domain and putting up with the headache of trying to make sure your IP address is up to date with your domain?  Do you hate the 40 dollars you spend on DNS service each year to resolve your IP address to your hostname?  Read on and learn the the flat-broke-and-busted way of maintaining a fixed hostname for your IP…even if you have dialup.

I’ll divide this up into 2 sections.  The first will deal with Linux.  The second, Windows.  This is only something that I’ve found easy to do and the price is just right (it’s free).  The only thing that I recommend is a dedicated internet connection (cable, DSL) but even this is not necessary as dialup can be used.  I recommend that you use the Linux way of doing things since it is more secure and doesn’t require a restart every time you patch it.

*note: I’m assuming that you aren’t behind a firewall/proxy of any kind and that your ISP doesn’t block port 80 traffic.  If your ISP blocks port 80, see the appendix at the end of this article.

LINUX

No matter what version of Linux you run, chances are that you’ll be able to install the apache webserver.  This is good news as over half the websites of the world are run by the extremely efficient and speedy apache. I’m not going to address the specifics of how to set up your website…only how to get it a fixed address without buying a domain.  So, you have your pages dropped into your webservers public directory…good.  Now, how to resolve your IP…lets say it is…25.24.4.166 (for our example) and you want it to have a host.name.com to bind to.  Easy to resolve.  Go to http://www.no-ip.com/index.php and sign up.  You can get a site from noip that is like yourname.theirdomain.com/.net/.info.  They have cool names like sytes.net and servebeer.org…even workisboring.com

You’ll be able to choose your own top level name…for instance, Ithink.dnsiskinky.com could be your new domain name.  Next download a client from the download tab: https://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php


The linux client is a tar.gz source and is simple to install. Follow the instructions when installing.  You may have to install compilation tools (devel packages like GCC) to install the client.  You now are the proud owner of yoursite.theirsite.com and your IP will ALWAYS update (as long as noip.com is up) each time you log on/sign on/beam up or whatever it is you do.

How does this help you?  Well, if you’re like me, you have a dynamic IP address.  If you connect to the internet via cable, dialup, or dsl…you also have a dynamic IP address.  Dynamic means that it will change from time to time without warning.  So by binding yoursite.theirsite.com to your IP address…you don’t ever have to worry about what IP address you have anymore.  Instead, you’ll always be able to connect using yoursite.theirsite.com.  You can host a webserver using Apache and a virtual host in this style as well (look for another how-to on this subject later) so that everyone can visit a shiny website at yoursite.theirsite.com.

WINDOWS

First you need a free and clear webserver since one is not included by default with windows. You can download Apache for this as well OR try the Abyss Webserver.

Interestingly enough, Abyss is also free!  I ran it while my linux machine was being worked on (bad hard disk…it was a Quantum 200MB drive from 1913…had to upgrade) and it worked just great off of Windows XP.  Download that puppy and install it.  Make sure you read all of the documentation and familiarize yourself with how Abyss does business.

The next step…getting a hostname… is even easier than the linux method because you don’t have to manually install the noip client…they have a windows installer.  Go to http://www.no-ip.com/index.php and sign up.  Choose the domain name you would like (see above examples in Linux section).  Next, download the noip client from the download tab: https://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php but this time choose the windows client.  From there, you’ll be able to install this with a simple double click.  Fill in all of your information (pretty self explanatory) and make sure that it will run with each time you sign on.  You’re set! Your IP will now resolve to the yourchoice.theirhostname.com

CONCLUSION

You don’t have to spend a dime to keep a domain bound to your IP.  This is perfect for the home user who just wants a gallery or homepage.  It’s even good for someone who has a weblog or enthusiast site.  I would not recommend this to anyone who has a business and wants to run a site.  Just remember that the best things in life are free.  Thanks open source!!!

PS: It’s always good form to put a link of the stuff you are using on your website to direct traffic back to your software provider.  When I used noip, I included a noip link on my mainpage and also an abyss webserver icon as well.  It’s just good form and some companies/software providers necessitate the use of their logo or a link on sites that use their software/code.  Just be a nice person and give a linkback to them.  Good luck! Have fun!

PSS: Also, please note that having hosted my own webserver for quite some time (circa 2001) I’ve found Linux and Apache as a combination to be more secure, faster, and more stable than any webserver I’ve hosted on the Windows Platform. I included information on Windows mainly to introduce you to the concept of free and open source software. If you thought getting a webserver for free was great, think about getting a whole operating system! Give it a try, you don’t even have to install it (use a Live CD).


APPENDIX

If your ISP blocks port 80 traffic, your webserver won’t work.  Before deciding that your ISP is blocking however, make sure your firewall has the appropriate rules to allow incoming traffic.  You can do a quick add to IPTABLES in the following manner:

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT

iptables -A INPUT -j DROP

If you’ve opened up the appropriate ports and things still don’t work, it will be safe to say that you’ve determined the ISP is blocking port 80.  How you can get around this conundrum is to switch the listening port on the webserver to a different one and redirect traffic there.

1. See how to do this for IIS Webservers
2. See how to do this for Apache Webservers (normally in /etc/apache2/httpd.conf but your distro may vary.)
3. See how to do this for Abyss Webservers

If you still have problems, drop me a line in the comments section.  I may not be able to answer all questions but I can most likely get you to a person/place/thing that can.  Have fun and thanks for reading!

This article was originally published on July 13, 2006 and has been updated and reposted.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Host Your Own Domain and Webserver originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on December 13, 2008.

I love market share studies. They’re ultimately inaccurate. Yet many websites quote them and use them in drawing conclusions to appeal to readers. Good idea to get your click through rate to soar and score some cash on the old advertisements…

Most market share studies are most likely based on two things:

1. Computers that are sold and what operating system is pre-installed on the computer
2. Browser statistics

I’m going to assume that NetApplications, who published the chart, were using browser statistics…because it makes more sense than the pre-installed sales figures…which I would rate Linux much lower on since most OEMs do not feature pre-installed Linux. Browser statistics are inherently biased toward someone using a browser that communicates operating system data to the webhost. I have Konqueror at home set to display no operating system data (I can provide a reason for those that wonder why in comments…just ask). I could also set Konqueror to display FALSE data telling any host that I’m running Mac or Windows. So what’s the margin of error with possibilities existing like this? HUGE of course. Should we trust a “study” like this? Heck no. Would you trust a financial graph that was this accurate? You’re a brave soul if so.

Look at the perspective. The numbers are slanted. If you examine the growth of Linux and the growth of Mac quoted by Apple Matters:

“However, as is also being noted, it is the trend of these figures that bears consideration. In the last two years, OS X has seen continual growth, from 4.21% in Jan 2006 (the first month of figures), to 5.67% in December 2006, to 7.31% in December 2007.

In the same time, Linux’s percentage has risen from only 0.29% to 0.63%.”

So, Mac has just about doubled…almost. Notice that Linux HAS doubled. Interesting eh? So if this study is correct, Linux has seen more growth in the same time than Mac has by more than doubling. Most likely, this results in less users overall…but who cares?

I don’t care whether Linux takes over the world or not. I don’t care if the desktop is never ruled by Linux. I just like the freedom and choice it gives me.

I’m not against using Macs…I just think that Mac fans sometimes are more rabid than even open source zealots. Linux isn’t going anywhere. Linux doesn’t care about market share. Linux will always be used Linux is the future…whether we want it or not…because it’s open, free, and social and that appeals to people of all demographics regardless of income. Proprietary software will ALWAYS cater only to those that can afford it.

In closing, it’s my opinion that market share studies involving Linux should never be quoted. Linux has continually shown that it cannot be measured by the same means that proprietary operating systems are measured. Perhaps someday someone will devise a way to do this…until then the iPhone is sure kicking butt and taking names on that Playstation eh? Sony should be VERY afraid.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Is the iPhone killing the Playstation? originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on January 11, 2008.

Fast forward to today.

I still get a sense of security by the ground being under my feet…this time with my operating system. I know that Linux doesn’t have any pitfalls, no security breached backdoors…because I can SEE the code. It’s like I am Indiana Jones being given a map of every single boobie trap before he enters the temple to get the artifact.

Some would say…but what if someone draws a fake map? Good point, glad you brought that up. The thing is, there are thousands of eyes looking at that map…hundreds of thousands worldwide. The authenticity of that map would be called into question within a few hours. Any problems with that map would be fixed/patched. That map would be 100% accurate before or within a day. Imagine if I had to go back to a map maker to fix this? They might release an update to their current line once a year if I’m lucky. Of course, I’m using this scenario to compare proprietary software and open source software. Both have their place and time…and for me that place is my desktop and the time is right away.

I often feel bad for people who haven’t considered what their OS does for them. They just use it because it comes on the computer by default OR because it’s easy. I don’t fault them for this mentality…it’s what drives many successful products (look at the ipod…it’s easy to figure out and use). Most people though do not have an idea that there are alternatives out there, like Mac and Linux, which is sad.

So, to help you along on the choice of which operating system you use is none other than MICROSOFT! They have included the Dual_EC-DRBG random-number generator to Vista SP1. This random number generator was the same one that was discussed on Slashdot previously about the possibility that it contained a secret NSA backdoor built into it. I’d like to personally thank Microsoft for giving yet another good reason (besides Vista itself) to move to an alternative Operating System.

The choice for me is simple. I don’t want someone to decide how my computer is secure. I want to decide myself. I’m not a moron…I don’t need to have my computer taken care of by someone or some company. I’m the driver, not the passenger. I don’t want an NSA backdoor in my computer, regardless if it is real or not…the mere possibility that it exists is enough for me. Linux gives me the freedom to choose software that I want and an Operating System I control…all at a cost of absolutely nothing.

Would you leave the backdoor to your house unlocked? When you park your car, do you leave one door unlocked? Most likely not. So why would you do the same thing with your Operating System? Choose Linux and take back your computer. The price is right. The time is now.

What Linux Distribution is Right for you?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Are You Secure? originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on December 18, 2007.

Despite the luxury this bought me…I found myself missing out on many big stories. Let’s face it, not everyone knows how to title and tag their blog entries (current company INCLUDED) to correctly reflect what the subject matter is. Since RSS readers only get a small synopsis of the head of an article, it’s difficult to find out if you want to read the article or not. I found myself missing some key phrases that I normally wouldn’t miss (like FOSS, FLOSS, and OSS) mainly because I wouldn’t see those in the third sentence of the synopsis when I was quickly scanning my feedlists. So, I searched for something that was better than those I had used: Pluck, Sage, Owl, Sharpreader, Wiz. I found it. And to my delight, it’s a cross-platform, GPL Licensed, Feed-synchronizing one that delivers unparalleled functionality and options. There’s nothing like it on the planet. If your interest is peaked, you’re in for a real treat if you keep reading.

One word. Two Syllables. Blogbridge.

It’s one of the best feed readers I have ever used. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to cover near as much ground in a small amount of time. It allows me to scan through hundreds of blogs daily and filter out the stuff that doesn’t interest me. There seems to be a lot of this today as people start out well but then turn their blog into a news aggregator or change focus and broaden what they blog about. This review is going to be populated heavily with screenshots of this amazing tool. I’ll go through some of the functionality of Blogbridge but overall, there are too many features to cover in a single article.

GPL

Guides

Service Account

Tagit!

Some of the things that set Blogbridge apart I’ve pictured above. First off, it’s GPL which makes it outstanding in my book. Second, a stock install has no RSS feeds setup. I find it very annoying when you install a feed reader and find it already has a section of ‘popular’ feeds for you…that’s like me buying a car and them putting in Brittany Spears in the CD Player…I don’t want it to happen EVER.

Next up, Guides. You can choose to have feeds by default by using the “Guides” option pictured above. These “Guides” plugin to their Service Account (also pictured above). Your feeds that you subscribe to can be synchronized to Blogbridge servers so that no matter what computer you install it on you’ll have your feeds waiting for you. I find this very convenient due to going back and forth to work…I’m able to read no matter what my location. Things work much in the way Foxmarks would save your Firefox bookmarks. It’s very handy.

Lastly, tagging is a must for me. Inputting common words separated by comma in the installation screen pictured above such as Linux, FOSS, FLOSS, etc. allows me to quickly filter through my articles and weed out those that don’t contain these tags. This makes reading the most important articles (to me) a snap. You don’t have to put tags in there but they’re awfully handy as you’ll see later.

These things aren’t the only fabulous things one finds in Blogbridge…they’re just a few of the things you’ll see when you first install it. There are countless other functions, bells, whistles, and features that I’m not even going to go into. I haven’t even found all the different things you can do with Blogbridge…but I will attempt to do it justice and showcase the things I DO know.

First things first…you’ll need to get some feeds. Say you have an OPML list you’d like to import. This can be done simply by going to the menu Guides >> Import. Just like you would have individual feeds divided by folders in other RSS readers, Blogbridge divides the categories up into “Guides”. You can also use the BlogBridge feature of automatically signing up to previous chosen Topic Guides. These topic guides are put together by many experts in each individual field of interest so it might be a good idea to start with those previously selected and then pick and choose from them. Pictured below are some screenshots of the “Guides” in action.

Changing Icons

Guides Online

Setup Guides

As you can see…you have many different options when customizing your guides. You can go online and browse different Guides that topic experts have…you can import these guides with all of their feeds when going through initial setup when you are installing. It’s up to you how you control your feeds and how you classify them using your guides.

Let’s say that you just want to browse and setup feeds manually…so setup one Guide as perhaps “Daily Reading” by right clicking in the space on the far left of the screen for guides and choosing “add guide”. You can also get back to adding expert guides here if you didn’t set them up during installation…simply select “subscribe to reading list” instead of “add guide” when you right clicked in that space and hit the “suggest” button. Now that you have a guide added, let’s put some feeds in there.

I love keyboard shortcuts…and adding a new feed can be done with control-n or by right clicking in the Feeds column. If you visit a feed you like, you can copy the URL and Blogbridge should detect it on the klipboard so that when you go to add a feed the url is already present.

Adding Feeds is simple with Blogbridge

Another great set of features that Blogbridge has is the granular control over feeds aka articles. You can quickly cleanup old feeds, search through existing ones, and/or tag articles to find them easily later. You can also share out those tags with the rest of the BlogBridge community or you can import tags from that same community.

One of the great features Blogbridge has that simplifies my reading is filtering. With this feature, we put to use the keywords you inputted during the installation process. When filtering by tags/keywords you’ll quickly be able to identify the feeds and posts in the feeds that mean the most to you. For example, some of my keywords are ‘Linux, Free Software, Open Source, FOSS, FLOSS, and OSS’. I can quickly find the articles that contain these keywords by enabling filters:

Applying filters

Filter by Stars

after applying filter

You can also filter further by using the stars rating system. The stars rating system allows you to rate the blogs that you read on a scale from 1-5 stars. This plugs directly into the community as well and shows you the average rating (shown by the # of greyed out stars before you rate it). Rate the blogs you like higher and then filter by stars. This is a way for you to quickly read the blogs that you rate the highest and to leave out the others that you didn’t rate that high. Very handy

So you have control over all of these feeds with filters…what about the articles contained in these feeds? You have excellent handling of these as well by Blogbridge. Let’s go over some hypothetical examples that showcases this. Let’s say that you have 2-3 hundred feeds…many of which may be outdated or are updated less frequently than normal…will you go through each of these to find the relevance to you or look at the update frequency of these (show as a graph in the feeds column in BB) and spend hours finding those you need to trim? Most likely not…it’s a daunting task. But daunting no logner. Blogbridge includes a cleanup wizard just for this situation.

Messy Feeds? Too much mess to clean? Blogbridge makes cleaning a snap with the Cleanup Wizard!

After you’ve cleaned, perhaps you read an article that you’d like to come back to later in the day…in this instance, you can pin the article and keep it ‘stickied’ to the top of all feeds.

Pinning article	Unpinning
Tagging	Marked Read

When you’re finished following up on it, you can unpin it. You can also tag individual articles in your feeds and share those tags with the Blogbridge community.

You can set Blogbridge to automatically mark an article read after a set period of time you have it selected, or you can right click the article and mark it read. You can also search through all of your feeds to find EXACTLY what you’re looking for.

You can quickly find your way through vast amounts of information by using Blogbridge to handle your feeds. Whether you want to use it in simple mode (where you just subscribe and read feeds without using the whiz bang features) or use it to the fullest…there are so many options that any voracious reader would be completely satisfied with its abilities.

The preferences and settings menu’s are robust and contain so many different features that I wouldn’t be able to go over them all here. Screenshots of the settings and preferences menu are posted below:

Advanced

I’ve found Blogbridge to be the complete package I need to navigate quickly through the hundreds of feeds I subscribe to. I can quickly and easily sort through this mount of information using the handy filtering system that utilizes my keywords/tags. I can also keep my Blogbridge updated with my latest feeds and then synchronize these from anywhere in the world via the Blogbridge service. Using the stars rating system, I can keep track of Blogs and sites that I find interesting and worthy and I can use this to filter in or out articles and sites that I want to read first or don’t want to read at all.

I highly recommend that you give Blogbridge a try. If you use PCLinuxOS, you can install Blogbridge immediately by using synaptic or apt-get. For all others, check your distros repositories or visit Blogbridge’s download page. Hope Blogbrigde works for you as well as it does for me!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Blogbridge, Simply the Best RSS originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on February 26, 2007.

Debian:

Install Debian in Windows

Ubuntu:

Install Ubuntu in Windows

Follow the instructions and enjoy Linux safely and securely without nuking Windows. It’s like a crutch for those of you reluctant to put the full weight on that one foot. If you are confused about what this Linux thing might be…visit this flash presentation to get an idea and welcome to the world of Linux! We’re glad you came aboard! Hopefully, you’ll make the choice many have already made to run Linux exclusively on our PCs

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Installing Linux INSIDE of Microsoft originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on January 30, 2007.

Some comments on this article when it hit the newswires at Lxer were that it was spotted previously by a site member. I revisit some articles from time to time just to clean up appearance and layout (since I’ve migrated site themes, been doing this quite a bit) and I noticed that Linuxworldexpo.com isn’t the only website that is powered by Windows. LinuxWorld leaves many of its sites to be powered by Bill and the gang:

1. Linuxworldexpo.co.uk (previously reported by theregister)
2. Linuxworldexpo.com (netcraft report)
3. linuxworldexpo.com.au (netcraft report)
4. linuxworld.idg.se (netcraft report)
5. linuxworldchina.com (netcraft report)
6. linuxworld.dk (netcraft report)
7. Linuxworldsummit.com (netcraft report)

Some of these sites above aren’t live… but most of them are from the same netblock, Level 3 Communitcations, Inc. Some side info to note: Level 3 is having SEC problems currently and the Yahoo Finance Boards are a hoppin with various messages with some predicting a huge fall and others comparing it to Worldcom. Now back to our subject. We’ve identified the netblock, but let’s get a bit deeper and find out other information.

A quick “jwhois linuxworldexpo.com” yields the following information:

A quick lookup on markmonitor.com and we see that it’s not really a host per se…but a domain management service provider. I did a quick search for Linux on their site which yields no results. This quick search doesn’t really tell us if LinuxWorld has a choice in the matter of hosting…it seems they’re given a platform on which to run via MarkMonitor.com through the Level 3 netblock. Taking a look at NetworkWorld, their parent company, we find a Linux Host? That’s a bit odd. Their old parent company IDG.com was always running on Windows but it seems they should have a choice for themselves (Linux and Windows hosting platforms) since their parent company is powered by Linux right? Are they letting their services purchased expire? Are we set to see mad changes for Linuxworld domains? Who knows. We can only comment on the current.

So one would hope that LinuxWorld would have the ability to ‘choose’ what platform to run on. It seems that this may not be the case. As stated, some of these sites don’t resolve aka they have no public face and resolve to nothing. If you’re an avid Linux enthusiast and think that any Linux News site should ‘walk the walk’ when they ‘talk the talk’ then LinuxWorld might be one of the places you avoid…at least until they can show that they deserve to wear the Linux name by hosting on Linux. Afterall, what would Microsoft.com hosted on Linux be? A laughing stock one could bet.

I do recall a time when LinuxWorld was one of the only magazines and sources for enterprise Linux news. It seems they’ve gone downhill quite a bit…according to alexa.com, their traffic has dropped through the floor during the past year. Not only that, but since the relaunch around the first part of June 2006 in which they were put under new ownership from Network World, they’ve had little activity on their website. For example, look at their <sarcasm>wildly active forums</sarcasm>…spammers don’t even try hard to post there…and why would they? Is anyone reading it?

Interestingly enough, macworldexpo.com is also running on Windows, which is silly to me as well. Oh well, life is full of conundrums right? Perhaps LinuxWorld being powered by Windows is meant to be? Who am I kidding! Roast those turncoats! lol.

Devnet

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

LinuxWorld Powered by Windows Part II originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on June 27, 2006.

I looked at their site report from Netcraft and saw that they have just changed within the last month. As I’ve spoken about in the past, some of these larger linux websites/news agencies have really gone down hill. I used to think LinuxWorld was a really great magazine/website. Then they go and pull something like this. Oddly enough, their website has been suffering as of late: According to Alexa, they’ve been on a steady decline since 2004. In fact, my lowly blog here has been garnering more traffic than their site according to Alexa. You do the math…if they can’t beat my silly little blog in traffic, they’re going out fast.

Don’t worry though, I at least have enough sense to always power this site with Open Source and on the Linux platform…even though my primary job is with Microsoft Windows 2000 and 2003 servers. I may be good at Windows AND Linux but I’m no sell out. I bet LinuxWorld wishes they could say the same. I’d cancel my tickets and reservations if you have a spot at that expo. Make sure you check out the heavy hitters that are there too and express your opinions to them on this subject.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

LinuxWorld, Powered by Windows? originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on May 12, 2006.

It’s Opportunity, Albeit, a Small One

Does anyone else here smell that? It’s opportunity. Perhaps an opportunity to push Linux just a little while longer and to develop it into what it needs to be before Microsoft once again proliferates itself onto every PC in America and sets the standard to which all things are compared. I can just see it when Vista finally does release…all of the comparison articles that will sprout across the web between Vista and desktops such as Ubuntu and SuSe 10.X. Linux can gain ground only one way; if it can become about user experience versus user function. If it can do that, I think Linux just might gain some ground. Babysteps…that’s what it is all about.

Microsoft’s OS has always been a rip-off of the work others do. OS/2 did things before Microsoft…Macs did things before Microsoft. They’ve been playing constant catch up since Windows began. If developers and users seize this opportunity in Linux to develop their distros in new ways, it can give Linux a slight foothold onto the desktop. Notice I said slight foothold. That’s because Linux will never storm onto the desktop. It will chip away slowly at the desktop until it gains acceptance. Linux has been granted a small door to the desktop and there is a set criteria for those distros that want to go through it. Will your favorite distro be able to go through the door? Can it provide the user experience needed to win people on the desktop over?

User Experience versus User Function

Most Linux distros just don’t get it. Everyone touts Ubuntu. They don’t get it. They say Linux for human beings but then make it so only human beings that are technologically savvy can use it. SimplyMEPIS touts being simple yet you have to enter into your sources.list and edit it before you can update it the first time. All of these distros have forgotten why people create operating systems and software. They’re trying really hard but missing the mark ever so slightly.

Why do people create operating systems and software? To help people with computing right? Perhaps to become notorious? Imagine that you have no operating system or an OS with no software to use on you PC. How would you accomplish anything at all? It would be rather difficult. The interesting part about this is that if you ask any software developer or programmer why they program/develop software they do it for 3 reasons:

1. Very good Pay and notoriety
2. Because they Can
3. To assist themselves or others with Computing Functions

There is nothing wrong with these approaches (I’m sure I’ve left out a couple of approaches)…but something is lost in the transfer between programmer/developer and the end user. What is it? It’s knowledge and experience…or lack thereof.

Anyone can make a program function. I have a C program I wrote waaaay back in the day that can operate as accounting software. Yet, people use QuickBooks, Kmymoney, and Appgen. Why is that? Why don’t they use the bare bones functional program they could get for free from me? It works pretty darn good…helps them file their taxes, and keeps track of all finances…why don’t they use this functional program? Because the knowledge it takes to use and support it is greater than those other programs I mentioned AND because it plainly doesn’t provide the same user experience as the aforementioned programs. It’s all of these reasons we can roll up into something called the “User Experience.”

The Experienced User and User Experience

One of my friends on the web is the webmaster of Lobby4Linux.com. He’s done some small usability studies in the best place you could possibly do it…a suburban shopping mall. You do studies like that and you can really tell where you stand. Sad to say that current desktops for Linux don’t stand a chance the way they are currently because most developers aren’t developing in the right mindset and focus. They’re developing for each other and for props from the community.

Imagine for a second if Apple decided they didn’t want to make Ipod easy to use anymore…they just wanted to develop software for their buddies and they wanted to make Ipod’s have the latest bells and whistles all the while ignoring pleas from those who cry out for change. That’s what Linux is doing. Ignoring the most important part of their community. New users and their opinions should hold the most weight with Linux developers and application programmers…because these people are providing the most pure look at the software. They aren’t polluted with elitism, they haven’t adopted a stance with the GPL or FLOSS yet…they’re just here to check out the software.

Say you are a developer or programmer. The minute a new user doesn’t understand how to do something, there is a problem with your product. No you can’t fix everything for everyone, but as a developer you should be trying to do so…we cannot reach perfection but we can chase it.

The odd part about this user centric philosophy is…if a developer or company or even a distro adopts a ‘user experience’ centric development process…they succeed. Two examples show us how clear this is.

1. Apple Ipod. Nuff said…they aren’t about functions and features…they don’t claim to be the best video/audio tool out there. They offer the best user experience. Hence, why they are number one and sell more product worldwide than anyone period. Also this is why they are the largest brand recognized on the planet…even more recognized than Microsoft.
2. Novell and SuSe 10 – You may think you know what SuSe is about…you may be discounting Novell because you think their ship has set sail many years ago when Microsoft took over. Then you need to watch this video on Brainshare and pay specific attention to why the two desktop developers are developing the way they are. You’ll hear about user experience and ‘won’t attract new users’ and other key phrases. This is terminology and focus that ALL Linux distros should be focused on if they want their distro to succeed.

Don’t get me wrong…I’m all for having a new user Google a solution or RTFM. However, has anyone ever stopped to think that a new user might not know how to search for information? How many new users out there know Boolean logic? It’s relatively hard for new users to Linux in general to find information on how to do things in Linux. Why do many community members throw these new users an anchor when they ask for a life raft? Remember, if Linux is to succeed, it needs to be about the entire user experience which starts the minute the user thinks to him/herself “I think I’ll give that Linux thing a try.” The spotlight is unfortunately on Linux and community from the beginning.

Taking the time to teach a new user the correct way of searching for answers is a good step in the right direction. However, taking stock in what area of the OS/software that new user is questioning is a better step in the right direction. Listen to the new users, their eyes are open where others are closed. They don’t look at the same scene everyday…they see things anew. Remember:

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. ~Marcel Proust

It’s about togetherness, not elitism

Linux is about a large collection of people working toward a common goal. This common goal is to proliferate Linux to all corners of the globe as an alternative way of computing to the status quo that Microsoft gives us. It absolutely is not about being smarter than everyone or being able to look down one’s nose at people. Unfortunately, due mainly to a rise in popularity of Linux, an influx of interest has resulted in an outflow of community. Elitism runs rampant through many forums and newbies are sometimes chastised for asking questions instead of being shown the proper way of asking.

So what are we to do? How do we continue making The Linux Experience about togetherness vs. elitism? The Linux community on a whole must take a stand against those who have no desire to help someone based solely on their experience level. Sure, I know there are those that say RTFM (read the friendly manual) or ‘google it’ but you and I both know that information isn’t organized how it should be with Linux. Remember that some of these people that are trying Linux for the first time don’t even know about boolean logic with search engines nor about http://google.com/linux so how do we expect them to find information unless it is organized logically (say…in a wiki)?

The Door is Open, Only a Few can Pass

The door to the desktop is open. I truly believe that Linux can take innroads to success for personal computing. However, I believe that if more distros do not take the approach of SuSe or PCLinuxOS, being about user experience versus whiz bang nifty old tools and bells and whistles…Linux will not gain desktop adoption.

My grandfather used to be a handy-man at a retirement home when I was a little kid. I remember going to work with him during the summer when school was out (mainly because we couldn’t afford daycare) and working with him. One thing sticks out in my memory now that I write this article about user experience. I remember that one year my grandmother bought him new tools to use on the job. They were supposed to be the best thing on the market and carry a lifetime guarantee. Those tools were used a total of 3 days…they didn’t have the feel of the old ones.

Linux will need to feel like those old tools to everyone before it can succeed. It needs to give people a warm and fuzzy feeling and it needs to cater to the most technically challenged person on the planet in order to gain ultimate acceptance.

Perhaps developers and programmers will read this article and choose the red pill instead of the blue one. Then again, they may not. Whatever they decide, their user-base is changing toward one with less Linux knowledge and one that thrives on user experience. If one does not adapt, one will be left behind.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Of Vista, Linux, and the User Experience originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on March 23, 2006.

1. Boot into Windows XP
2. Hit F8 every 2 seconds until you’re given the option to boot into ‘Safe Mode with Networking’
3. Now your computer should be blazing because none of that nasty spyware is running.

Now that you are able to finally operate your computer, let’s speed it up even more.

1. Download This File (note: it may take quite some time based on your connection speed)
2. Once the download is finished, get This Program, and install it.
3. Using the program you installed from #2, burn the file downloaded from #1 to CD.
4. After burning is finished, put the disc back in your CD tray and reboot the computer

Now you’re halfway done! Soon your Windows XP computer will be operating very fast with zero virus’ and absolutely NO spyware!

1. After reboot, enter into your BIOS…if you don’t know how, there is a list on this page that contains which key to hit to get into your BIOS.
2. Set your computer’s boot order to: 1. CD 2. Hard drive 3. Whatever else you may have.
3. Exit and Save the BIOS.

Allow your computer to boot. If you’re presented with the opportunity to enter text onto a line, just hit enter. You should see much text flying across the screen. Rest assured, this is part of the remedy of a slow XP computer. Soon, you’ll come to a screen that looks like this:

1. Click the guest icon and enter the password ‘guest’
2. Allow the login to take place.
3. YOUR improved Windows XP Computer is complete! It will now operate without virus’, spyware, adware, and will be extremely fast and efficient! Enjoy your new and improved speedier desktop!

Disclaimer: The above instructions allow you to use the PCLinuxOS LiveCD and is intended for educational purposes only. These directions are provided to you ‘as-is’ and since they are for educational purposes only, they should be attempted only by those that desire to be educated. Do not try this at home unless you feel really really ticked off about Virus laden, spyware riddled, adware inundated Windows computers. I am not responsible for how you use the above information, use it at your own risk. If you’d like to install this operating system onto your hard drive, please see this link for more information. Please rest assured, this article is for entertainment and exposure purposes only.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Speed up your Windows XP Computer! originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on December 19, 2005.